Free Republic

A record-breaking ruling for the family of Bob Levinson, a former FBI Agent who vanished while in Iran 13-years ago. Thursday, a U.S. judge ruled Iran must pay Levinson's family $1.46 billion, the largest judgement for a case of this kind... Levinson disappeared in 2007 while working as a CIA contractor in Iran. His family immediately called on (Atty. David) McGee, who was Levinson's friend, to help bring him home... Earlier this year, Levinson's family announced they were convinced the husband and father of seven was dead. In a statement, they said the judgement was the "the first step in...

A Republican businessman cruised to an easy victory Tuesday in an overwhelmingly Democratic state House of Representatives district. • Todd Russ, Republican: 3,029 (55.9%) • Larry Peck, Democrat: 2,388 (44.1%) Results are unofficial until the state Election Board certifies them next week. Todd Russ garnered 55.9 percent of the votes to win the House District 55 seat, which has been held by a Democrat since 1965. He was opposed by Democrat Larry Peck, who recently retired as an agriculture education instructor and FFA adviser at Sentinel High School. Russ’ victory increases the Republican majority in the House to the highest...

KEVIN Rudd has been forced to directly intervene in a damaging defence force pay issue involving SAS soldiers who have been made to repay tens of thousands of dollars in special allowances the Defence Department deemed they were not qualified for. Up to 49 soldiers in the elite Special Air Service regiment (SAS) are being forced to repay as much as $50,000 in some cases, after being told they did not have the formal trade qualifications to continue being paid higher allowances. One highly qualified SAS signaller has had his pay slashed from $112,800 a year to $66,000 and has...

Russia's links to West scrutinized after Georgia 2008-08-31 MOSCOW (Reuters) - European heavyweights Germany and Britain questioned Russia's ties with global institutions on Sunday, a day before EU leaders meet to decide what action to take over the Kremlin's intervention in Georgia. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent troops and tanks into Georgia this month to stop what he called a genocide against separatist regions, but he now faces growing condemnation in the West, which accuses Russia of occupying parts of Georgia. Georgia's pro-Western government, which last week severed diplomatic ties with Russia, said it had pulled out of a long-standing...

Do you agree with Sen. Russ Feingold's proposal for an end-of-2006 deadline for the completed pullout of American troops in Iraq? No (51.8%) Yes (48.2%)

OSLO: Having sex with 17 people in as many days, downing a case of beer in 24 hours and making out with a student of the same sex are just a few of the escapades many Norwegian high school students get up to each May in a well-established pre-graduation tradition. Every year, some 30,000 teens about to graduate from high school take part in massive celebrations that go on unabated from May 1 until they culminate in a huge blow-out on Norway's national holiday on May 17. "These festivities have the same feel of liberation as a carnival in a...

FRANKFORT A politician from Kentucky's most populous county and a northern Kentucky newcomer will square off at next week's polls, hoping to win the secretary of state's seat. Trey Grayson of Kenton County is the Republican candidate; Russ Maple of Louisville is the Democratic candidate. Each have campaigned on election reform issues and e-commerce changes in the secretary's office — the state's chief of election officer and chairman of the elections board who maintains business and incorporation records. "One of the big issues, in the elections area, is trying to address fraud," said Grayson, an attorney and business consultant making...

Russ Maple, a longtime politician, is running for the important office of Secretary of State of Kentucky.  He must never be allowed to obtain it.  If you remember Florida in 2000, you know how important this office truly can be in a serious situation, and how important it is to have someone of integrity holding this position of public trust. The Latest Lies:September 8, 2003 debate on KET.  (Please click here to watch the debate)Lie #1:  "I believe that public office should make a difference, a positive difference in people's lives."    This could be a true statement depending on...

Russ Maple seeks the office of Secretary of State in Kentucky. Among the office's most important duties is being the Chief Elections Officer. In the 2000 election, we learned just how important this office can truly be in a serious situation. One of many marks against him is his reputation for shaking down campaign contributors while on Fiscal Court in Jefferson County. Maple filed for Secretary of State more than two years before the filing deadline, collecting contributions into his Secretary of State account from those with business before the Fiscal Court. Excerpt from an article in the Courier-Journal:...

The grandson of a late Paducah merchant faces political veteran Russ Maple Nov. 4 for secretary of state. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Former President Bill Clinton and Gov. Paul Patton, both Democrats, had a profound effect on Trey Grayson's political life. Grayson grew up in Kenton County where Democrats controlled local offices. "When I was 18, I registered to vote as a Democrat so that I could vote in the primary," Grayson said. "But I always admired President Reagan and the elder President Bush. And I really knew I was a Republican because I believed in lower taxes, less regulation and less government."...

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Richie Farmer's celebrity as a former University of Kentucky basketball player, and whether he is relying on it to be elected commissioner of agriculture, arose as an issue Monday night in a televised forum with his opponent, Alice Baesler. "This election is not a basketball game," said Baesler, who has a Kentucky basketball connection of her own - husband Scotty was a captain of the Wildcats - but also years of experience running a cattle and tobacco farm in Fayette County. "We need to take it off the basketball court and into the plowed field," Baesler told...

Welcome to (as far as I know) Free Republic’s first “Illustrated Song”. Some songs just naturally bring certain images to your mind, and as I listened to this song, the following images came to the forefront of my mind and reminded me that you can see President Bush’s words and beliefs coming to life in his face. Hopefully you will agree with me that the photos illustrate the song well. This song was recorded by Christian artist Russ Lee, and this version came out right after President Bush’s inauguration. Russ Lee took W’s words and interspersed them into his own...