Free Republic

"I vote, because I should have a voice in government," Philip Greenberg was saying one sunny morning recently as he sat in the parlor of Seven Acres Jewish Senior Care Services, his residence since 2005. "That's a problem when no one takes advantage of it."....Greenberg, 101, cast his first presidential vote for FDR and was a Democrat for decades, but not anymore. "I'm a staunch Republican," he said. "I don't mind telling anyone."[Centenarians] represent the fastest-growing segment of the population in terms of age...........Seven Acres, home to nearly 400 residents, requests 100 mail ballots every election year.......Anna Robinson has not...

Former Vatican Ambassador Raymond L. Flynn yesterday accused Democrats of ignoring a ``swing'' bloc of Catholic voters who could hand President Bush re-election next year.      As Democratic presidential candidates spent another day criticizing Howard Dean as ill-prepared for the White House, Flynn chastised them for ``ducking'' real issues such as abortion and gay marriage.      ``There is a forum for the black voters, there's another forum for the feminists and women voters, there's another candidate forum for organized labor,'' Flynn told the Herald. ``That doesn't happen with the most significant voting bloc in the country, the Catholic vote.''      Flynn, in an...

Court strikes staggering blow to free speech TACOMA—In a stunning blow to teachers and other union workers, Washington’s Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the state law prohibiting unauthorized use of non-member union fees for politics is unconstitutional. The case was on appeal after the Washington Education Association (WEA) was sued by the state Attorney General (AG) and found guilty in July 2001 of willfully violating RCW 42.17.760, which prohibits the union from using fees taken from non-member teachers to advance political causes without permission from those teachers. The WEA was ordered to pay $570,000 dollars in fines and penalties...

I have reflected a great deal over the years about the need for dialogue and unity among various minority and progressive communities. The presidential primary process is underway, and this is the time when the candidates within the Democratic party work to differentiate themselves from one other. It is important, however, to keep in mind that the end goal for all of us is to elect a Democratic president who will work to provide a decent education for the most underprivileged children, pass tax cuts for the lower and middle classes rather than the wealthy, protect the environment and a...