Free Republic

Here is where the media circus takes a decidedly ugly turn. Even as protests spread across the country and celebrities from Sinbad to M.C. Hammer weigh in on the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, supporters of shooter George Zimmerman -- including some conservative websites -- are weighing in with attempts to turn Martin's image from innocent kid to dangerous thug. The website the Daily Caller Monday featured tweets from the dead 17-year-old's now-closed account, topped with a huge photo of the teen showing off his gold teeth (a spokeswoman for the website says they got the photo from his Twitter...

A recent full-page newspaper ad from the libertarian Cato Institute takes issue with President Barack Obama's convictions about global warming. The ad cites then-President-elect Obama's Nov. 19 statement: "Few challenges facing America and the world are more urgent than combating climate change. The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear." "With all due respect, Mr. President, that is not true," the ad states in bold letters. Below that is a statement they say was signed off on by more than 100 named scientists. "We, the undersigned scientists, maintain that the case for alarm regarding climate change is grossly...

Shortly after Barack Obama won the presidency, the gleefully snarky Web site Gawker.com trumpeted "North Finally Wins Civil War." Speaking on behalf of what Sarah Palin and other conservatives famously dismissed as the "un-American" parts of America, Gawker rejoiced that the South is no longer the big dog of national political discourse, citing the New York Times and other respectable news outlets, which claimed Obama's new Midwestern wave drove old Dixie down. Certainly Washington is minus the likes of Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay, Bob Graham and Elizabeth Dole. President Obama's Cabinet will have the fewest Southerners since the Kennedy administration....

Attention Wal-Mart shoppers: Most of the leading 2008 Democratic presidential hopefuls think you should be paying higher prices for the merchandise you buy at the world's largest retailer. They're sure you won't mind, since the money could go for higher wages and better health care benefits for Wal-Mart employees. Just when about everything seems to be breaking their way - a majority of Americans are fed up with President Bush's fiascoes at home and abroad and with the recklessness and ethical rot of the Republican Congress - Democrats have decided the way to connect with middle-class voters is to bash...

Jihad at the St. Petersburg Times By Erick StakelbeckFrontPageMagazine.com | November 3, 2004Over the past month, Mike Frazier has received, by his count, six death threats and 47 menacing phone calls. He’s been accosted by complete strangers in public and vilified as an “extremist” by the largest newspaper in his state. Frazier—a pastor at Landmark Baptist Church in Brooksville, Florida—has even seen several churchgoers leave his congregation during this period, because, according to him, “they were afraid.” Such is the price Frazier has paid for criticizing the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the most influential radical Islamist group in...

Al Gore has done it again. There is a reason he isn't president and it's not just the chads in Florida. The man has the worst political instincts of anyone to have gotten as far as he did in this business. Once again, he has proven why he is a loser and not a leader. Of course, the endorsement by the former vice president helps Howard Dean, at least in the short run. It cements his role as the front runner in the race, sending a powerful message about the race to insiders and outsiders. Try making fundraising calls today...

Wednesday, June 5, 2002 St. Petersburg Times Steps to ease nursing shortage With more than 9,000 Florida nursing positions unfilled, legislation signed last week by Gov. Jeb Bush takes several important and immediate steps toward easing the shortage. The Nursing Shortage Solution Act will allow more students to enroll in state nursing schools and make it easier for out-of-state nurses to move here. Without help, hospitals expect the state's nurse deficit to grow to 30,000 within the next five years -- a shortage that undoubtably would have a dangerous impact on the level of available quality health care. Until now,...