Free Republic

Given that the observation has been forthcoming from such sources as the editorial pages of the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times, it is not a partisan potshot to note that Democrat Barbara Boxer has been ineffective as a California senator. After 18 years in the Senate, Boxer deserves the thanks of Californians for her service, but not re-election. As the Chronicle observed, “There is no reason to believe that another six-year term would bring anything but more of the same uninspired representation.” Meanwhile, much more so than with past Boxer Senate opponents, Republican Carly Fiorina offers promise. The...

As a newspaper monopoly crumbles, unorthodox upstarts storm the marketplace. Welcome to the future of journalism. If you want a glimpse of what local news may soon look like in big cities with shrinking newspapers, head to San Diego. Here you'll find a Web news venture that gives writers a cut of the ad money created by their own stories; another whose nonprofit founders raise money from readers to buy laptops for their reporters; and a third venture which, in spite of the $10 million it nets each year, faces a very uncertain future. All three are vying for the...

The parent company of The San Diego Union-Tribune announced yesterday that it plans to sell the paper to a Beverly Hills private equity firm that specializes in turning around troubled ventures. The buyer, Platinum Equity, is a 14-year-old firm headed by billionaire investor Tom Gores. It has purchased companies in industries as diverse as information technology and metal processing. This is its first newspaper deal. A principal in the firm said newspapers were a logical target, given the steep challenges the industry faces, such as circulation declines and growing online competition. “There's no question that the newspaper industry is undergoing...

More than at any other time in a generation, Americans want change in the White House. The global financial upheaval and lingering wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left most families weary and fearful, solidly convinced that the country needs to strike out in a new direction. So, for voters on Nov. 4 the fundamental question is, which presidential candidate would provide the essential change that a strong and prosperous America demands in the turbulent years ahead? In our analysis, Republican candidate John McCain has a documented record of enlightened leadership in Washington – leadership that often has run counter...

I just viewed the video of the BP shooting at the link posted by Ladycalif. It was edited in an obvious attempt to portray it as a bad shooting. The text portion put in by the Tribune stated the rock thrower was an illegal immigrant. He wasn't an immigrant. He was a smuggler. The agent attempted to apprehend the criminal when he tried to leave the canal. He fought with the agent and then ran towards the marked unit. Somewhere in between the canal and the truck he picked up a rock. This was edited out. At one point the...