Free Republic

WASHINGTON, July 6, 2006 – As the international community unites and sends a clear message to North Korea demanding disarmament, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will become less of a threat, President Bush said here today. "We want to solve this problem diplomatically, and the best way to solve the problem diplomatically is for all of us to be working in concert and to send one message, and that is to Kim Jong Il that ... 'We expect you to adhere to international norms, and we expect you to keep your word,'" Bush said at a joint news conference...

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2006 – Although 1,500 U.S. troops were deployed this week from Kuwait to help calm the recent surge of violence in Ramadi, Iraq, the decision about how to handle the problem in that area ultimately belongs to the Iraqi government, a U.S. general involved in planning operations said here today. "There is a contest in Ramadi right now, and that is a contest for the Iraqi government to figure out how to deal with. Our job is to help them do that," Army Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, deputy director for regional operations for the Joint Staff, said...

TIJUANA – They were just miles away but worlds apart, two presidents grappling with the thorny issue of illegal immigration from opposite sides of the fence. As President Bush swung through southern Arizona yesterday, Mexican President Vicente Fox traveled to his country's northern border, speaking out against U.S. proposals for strict immigration enforcement. “Walls are not the solution,” Fox said after sharing lunch with a group of factory workers in Tijuana. “And neither is the National Guard.” Fox took advantage of his visit to two of Mexico's largest border cities – Tijuana and Mexicali – to signal his opposition to...

Jim Quinn put forth this solution to the immigration "problem" in today's show. I'm presenting it here (with some minor modifications by me) for discussion. Basically, his solution is in two parts. PART ONE: SLAM THE BORDER SHUT! No proposal will work until we have complete control of the border. As long as its open, the problem will only worsen over time. Part of securing the border is SERIOUS santions against employers who hire illegal aliens. PART TWO: Once the border is secured, then we'll deal with the (however many) millions of illegals currently in the country. Step 1: Announce...

The Governator Wants Solutions... to reduce Carbon-based Emissions???

How bout this? Money makes the world go around so... 1. Pay a bounty to professional bounty hunters for capturing illegals and delivering them to law enforcement. 2. Pay a reward to private citizens for information that leads to the capture and deportation of illegal immigrants. 3. Pay a reward to private citizens for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone employing, aiding or abetting illegal immigrants. 3. Create a system of fines charged to private individuals and businesses that employ, aid and abet illegal immigrants to offset the paying of the above said bounties and rewards....

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2006 – Security in Iraq, while important, will not alone win the war against insurgents, a top U.S. commander said here today. For Iraq to be successful in its new democracy, it must have governance, economic development and functioning ministries in its government, Army Lt. Gen. John Vines, commander of 18th Airborne Corps, said at the State of the Military Health System 2006 Annual Conference. "The soldiers in the field are doing a very good job at the tactical level; but tactical success can't be translated into operational strategic success until we have ministries and contingents sustained...

Police cracking down on violence around border nightclubs YUMA, Ariz. San Luis, Mexico, police are tired of rowdiness at town nightclubs. They're doubling their presence near the city's nightclubs in response to recurring weekend violence. Police have placed between 16 and 20 patrol cars in the center of town near the clubs. They've also have stepped up I-D checks before patrons are allowed to enter clubs. A San Luis police commander says many underage teenagers try to enter the clubs. Mexico's drinking age is 18. Authorities say many are coming into San Luis Rio Colorado from the U-S. Mexican police...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed Monday to pursue a bipartisan compromise on his remaining special-election measures, despite his redistricting initiative being kicked off the ballot. During a news conference to highlight his agenda for reducing obesity among public schoolchildren, Schwarzenegger was asked repeatedly about his plans for the Nov. 8 special election now that Proposition 77 has been removed from the ballot by a judge who cited constitutional issues. Two initiatives sponsored by the governor -- including one to reform the state budget process -- remain on the ballot, as do others sponsored by various parties. "We are moving forward with...

Perhaps we should look at Germany as an example of a stable environment following the liberation of a dictator. The U.S. and U.S.S.R. had so many nuclear weapons on the ground in Germany that no one (not even terrorists) thought it was a good idea to set off any bombs. Maybe if we put a few percussion sensitive warheads around Iraq, people would stop setting of bombs.

Last week, BT, a large British telecommunications company, announced what was billed as the world’s first hybrid telephone. The phone connects to a landline in the same way that a cordless telephone does. But it can be taken away from its base and used as a mobile phone. Cellular charges will only apply if the phone is away from its base. It wasn’t that long ago when the proliferation of cell phones gave rise to the fear that it would only be a matter of time before we ran out of telephone numbers. As mobile phones became cheaper and smaller,...

Two car bombs have exploded in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, causing heavy loss of life. Officials said at least 20 people were killed in the attack, and others were trapped as a building collapsed. The attacks came at the end of a day of violence in Iraq, that included bomb attacks on a mosque and a restaurant, which killed at least 24 other people. In another incident, the commander of a new unit set up to fight insurgents was shot dead in the capital, Baghdad. The bombs in Tal Afar went off outside the home of a...

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers have been building temporary dams to hold back the alternative minimum tax. Now, a bipartisan group of senators wants to eliminate the levy, originally aimed at wealthy tax dodgers, before it rushes into the middle class. Four senators — two Republicans and two Democrats, including the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee — hope to force serious discussion about altering or abolishing the levy by introducing a $611 billion bill to repeal it. "We're saying, in our bill, is that this ought to be at the top of the list in terms of tax reform," said Sen....

Sen. Clinton offers abortion solution By John Aloysius Farrell Denver Post Washington Bureau Chief New York - It seemed a reasonable, almost obvious, point to make: The Democratic Party should represent Americans of all creeds and religious convictions, even those who have qualms about abortion. "We shouldn't ... have a special-interest group define our stand on choice," said former Rep. Tim Roemer, a Democrat from Indiana, referring to abortion-rights groups such as NARAL Pro-Choice America. The hissing began at the rear of the room full of Democratic activists and spread throughout the hall. Last week, having failed to gain much...

01.12.04 | Things have been hectic, I want to write about the muzzle bill (also known as the media Bill), I want to write about the mortgage bill, a tribute to financial stupidity and I want to write about the new bond, but there has been so much going on that I have not had time to do any of it. Moreover, last weekend I wrote my list of “fixes” for the Venezuelan economy but have not had time to talk about them and I don’t want to delay staring that thread, so here is the first installment. First I...

...snip... Find the answer at Applebee’s One veteran Democratic strategist, Clinton White House political director Doug Sosnik, sums up the answer in one word: Applebee’s. For Sosnik, the chain of modestly priced restaurants (more than 1,600 in 49 states), symbolizes precisely what is wrong with the party’s Washington-based elite. Democratic leaders are out of touch with the American people, Sosnik said in a panel discussion Tuesday sponsored by the centrist Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). “The leadership of our party has a cultural disconnect,” Sosnik said. “Our leaders — particularly Washington, D.C.-based — don’t really have the same life, day to...

Nearly four years have elapsed since the Oslo process (1993-2000) between Israelis and Palestinians foundered in bloodshed. Over that period, two U.S. administrations have tried to forge policies that would reduce the violence and point toward a solution to the conflict.It has not been a single-minded pursuit. Since September 11, 2001, the prime focus of Washington has been the management of unprecedented U.S. military interventions in the region, which removed regimes from power in Afghanistan and Iraq. The notion of Israeli-Palestinian peace as the key to regional stability has been replaced by the war on terror and the insistence on...

Governor Bush Advises Elections Officials On Harassment POSTED: 6:12 am EDT October 25, 2004 UPDATED: 10:52 am EDT October 25, 2004 ORLANDO, Fla. -- Gov. Jeb Bush is advising state elections officials to remove people who intimidate voters at early voting sites, after Orange County's elections supervisor complained of harassment at the polls from campaign solicitors, observers and members of the media. Bush, in a letter sent Sunday to Orange County supervisor of elections Bill Cowles, said he was disturbed by the complaints, adding any harassing behavior should not be tolerated under Florida's election laws. While noting that there are...

On Aug. 10, the Schwarzenegger administration reached an agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union to settle its lawsuit demanding better education for California's neediest students. The good news is the lawsuit focused enormous attention on how decrepit and dysfunctional our public schools have become, especially those serving our most disadvantaged families. The bad news is it will do nothing to improve our public schools. After the suit was launched by the ACLU in 2000, the Davis administration fought it with the $320-per-hour O'Melveny and Myers law firm and $14.5 million in legal fees. Their hardball lawyers deposed kids as...

please see the link for a lengthy and thoughtful essay on terrorism and the regional Middle East Conflict