Free Republic

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts Many of the European “new democracies” strangely appear closer to Medieval Principalities (in terms of size and influence), than to the countries they would rightfully become. True most of them were born out of Mother Russia’s demise, so they do have that slight leaning (at best). Now, many of those “new” countries have been in existence for centuries and just reclaimed their rights to their own language, schools, religions, etc. More importantly many of them are racing to become members of the European Union. I have seen (first hand) how several of these new states...

SACRAMENTO — Polls are showing the Schwarzenegger administration and Democratic lawmakers that there is vast support among Californians for tax increases — a swift escape from chronic, multibillion-dollar deficit woes. But voters want to tax someone else, anyone else, just not themselves. That is why Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, despite continuing to explore the issue in internal polls, remains flatly opposed to increases in taxes as part of his proposed 2005-06 budget, according to aides and analysts. And that is also why majority Democrats — even Bay Area and Southern California lawmakers who just jointly and quietly introduced a major...

3 clips... these were all broadcast on Al-Fayhaa TV (Iraq/UAE) - from 1/23/2005 to 1/24/2005. The Iraqi people, for example, have probably seen this. They speak for themselves.... rtsp://s96wm.castup.net/server12/78512209-61.wmv?s=&rid=502040623463593&ct=US&rg=US&aid=214 rtsp://s96wm.castup.net/server12/34391421-61.wmv?s=&rid=502040625301930&ct=US&rg=US&aid=214 rtsp://s96wm.castup.net/server12/34391421-61.wmv?s=&rid=502040625301930&ct=US&rg=US&aid=214 Translation by MEMRI http://www.memri.org http://www.memirtv.org

SACRAMENTO (AP) - As Secretary of State Kevin Shelley faces multiple investigations into his performance in office, as well as calls for his resignation, a key constituency - California's 58 county elections officials - has been conspicuously absent in rallying support to him. County officials call Shelley's tenure as California's top elections official a disappointment, so many are standing on the sidelines as he struggles to keep his job. "The point of view I have is we're all disappointed in the way things have happened in the secretary of state's office under his watch," said Debbie Hench, registrar of voters...

Support Our Troops Day * 2-8-05 * In protest of the media’s distorted coverage of the war in Iraq, and in support of our Troops, we are urging every American to stop their newspaper and turn off their televisions for JUST ONE DAY on February 8, 2005. When you cancel your paper, tell them you are canceling for Support Our Troops Day. If you are interested in supporting our Troops, but don’t receive a paper, or maybe just receive it on the weekend, we encourage you to call your local paper anyway. Tell them you are calling for: Support Our...

Hi everyone! Several weeks ago, a few of you came out to supports our troops at the Pentagon, which was great! But since then, numbers have dwindled to, well, me. Tomorrow, I'll probably be the only "Pro-Troop" person standing outside the Pentagon, trying in my own humble way to combat the forces of idiocy and complacency. I know it's probably too late for tomorrow, but since I'll be doing this every Monday until I am no longer able, I'd like to invite any of you who live in the area to please stop by between 7am and 8am on Mondays....

Father's rights have been undermined in this country's courts for many years now, and all too often Dad's have their children all but taken away from them by the nation's family courts even when they have proven to be model parents in the past. No fault divorce coupled with the widespread general assumption that the Mother should get the majority of parenting responsibility when a family breaks up has conspired to deprive the children of our country's broken homes from having two parents. This is truly the biggest civil rights violation being perpetrated (against both parents and children), notwithstanding what...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Overall support for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger remains high among voters, but he is losing his appeal among Democrats and independents, according to a poll released Thursday. The survey from the Public Policy Institute found 60 percent of Californians favor the way the Republican governor is doing his job, but 49 percent of Democrats disapprove. Six in 10 independent voters still give Schwarzenegger high marks - the same as last year - but the number of independents who disapprove of him has almost doubled, from 18 percent last year to 32 percent this year. The numbers may come...

Family and friends of a Marine who reportedly was refused service at a Fort Worth convenience store staged a protest at the store Tuesday. The demonstration brought a sense of resolution to family members, according to NBC 5, after the store owner fired the employee who denied the service.

If you would like to be "trendy" with the Lance Armstrong wristbraces that are everywhere, try out this wristband. Check out this link (http://store.starsandstripesshop.com/suourtrrubr.html). Another awareness tool of Supporting our Troops.

Clintons, at Queens temple, pledge support for tsunami relief effort 12/31/2004, 5:28 p.m. ET By DEEPTI HAJELA The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton toured a Buddhist temple in Queens on Friday and pledged their support of relief efforts for the tsunami victims in Asia. The temple, on a residential street in the Parkside Hill neighborhood, was a hive of activity as volunteers packed boxes of clothes and other supplies being shipped to Sri Lanka, where about 28,500 people were killed by the raging tidal waves last weekend. "It is very heartwarming...

John Podhoretz asks the question I've been wondering about for some time: "How long before Democrats decide that our men and women in uniform are just extensions of the president and party they detest a bunch of warmongering, bloodthirsty and stupid imperialists?" Now you say, "oh that won't happen. We, as a nation, learned our lesson with Vietnam." OK, if you say so. But I still find it to be an intellectual challenge to hold the contradictory position of loving the warrior and hating the war. In my opinion, it would be tantamount to saying that you supported the Japanese...

  For Immediate ReleaseDecember 25, 2004 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. On this Christmas day, as families across the nation gather in our homes to celebrate, Laura and I extend to all Americans our best wishes for the holidays. We hope this Christmas is a time of joy and peace for each of you, and we hope it offers you a chance for rest and reflection as you look forward to the new year ahead. The Christmas season fills our hearts with gratitude for the many blessings in our lives. And with those blessings comes a...

President Bush has wide support for his argument that Social Security needs dramatic change to meet its obligations to future retirees, but there remains considerable skepticism about his plan to let people invest a portion of their contribution to the program in the stock market, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Since his Nov. 2 reelection victory, Bush has frequently said the results were an endorsement by voters of the most dramatic revision of the retirement program since its inception nearly 70 years ago. But the survey shows that his efforts to educate the public about the idea and...

President Bush's jump in support from Hispanic voters this election from 2000 was almost entirely among Hispanic men, nearly half of whom voted for him this year, according to a study released yesterday. The new numbers from the National Annenberg Election Survey also continue to fuel the debate over exactly how much of the Hispanic vote Mr. Bush did win last month. A series of exit polls have shown that support ranging anywhere from 34 percent to 44 percent. But the Annenberg poll, taken in the eight weeks before the election and the two weeks afterward, found Mr. Bush garnering...

Hello Military Supporters! www.operationmilitarypride.org Here is an update on OMP projects! We have some wonderful news!!! We just got 686 lbs of gatorade donated from Sam's club! We were able to help 11 more kids with presents! We got around 1500 Cds donated to send over! what we still need help with is TOYS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES NEEDED! Donations are needed to help 74 more children with presents! I DO NOT have it to lay out! We have 77 more kids we need to buy presents for! I am desperate for help with this! We still need to raise a...

Please help with this one.Damn, just damn. Specialist David Mahlenbrock was killed by an IED on December 3rd in Kirkuk, Iraq.I received this email via Soldier's Angels. It's from David's Squad in Bravo, 65th Engineers and they are forwarding a request from David. It appears that David had a special letter sent to his squad in the event of his death. Hold on to your seats, folks:

The Arab world is all one big happy family again. OK, dysfunctional, but happy. No, well, unhappy and as twisted as usual. While visiting Kuwait today, Palestinian presidential front-runner, Mahmoud Abbas, apologized for his people’s support of Saddam’s invasion of the Gulf emirate in 1990. Isn’t that special? (remember Dana Carvey as the “Church Lady” on SNL?). This happened just after Kuwait’s sultans (or whatever they’re called) forgave the Palestinian people for supporting Saddam’s invasion. Kuwait’s leadership went so far as to say they didn’t even expect a public apology for Palestinian support of the 1990 war. Now, isn’t that...

Some House Democrats are now publicly backing Annan to complete his term as UN Secretary General. It is not much of a surprise that the loudest voices come from the likes of Dennis Kucinich. During the democratic primaries, Kucinich successfully cast himself as a far left, out of touch, politician. Here is a report on his Annan statements. Fundamentally what is with the Democrats and their support for an obviously corrupt and disturbed leadership at the UN? As we have noted here before, the UN workers have voted for a no-confidence measure, aimed at the top brass of the UN....

Throughout the 1990s, Turkish foreign policy analysts had an easy job. After all, Turkish foreign policy was predictable. Ankara cooperated enthusiastically with Washington, whether in the Middle East or in the Balkans. Turkey aligned itself with Israel and kept at arms length from Middle Eastern neighbors such as Syria and Iran. In Europe, Ankara traded heavily with the European Union (EU) but did not allow the EU to dictate foreign policy. The European Union's frequent allegations and criticism of human rights abuses in Turkey, especially with regard to Turkey's fight against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK, Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan) terrorists, soured...