Mr. Thompson is a former Republican senator from Tennessee, and former ABC News Radio contributor.
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Speaking Up for Freedom
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Well, he's done it. Hugo Chavez was already systematically silencing criticism of his autocratic rule through threats and intimidation. Journalists have been threatened, beaten and even killed. Now he's shut down the last opposition television networks in Venezuela and arrested nearly 200 protesters – mostly students. It’s a monumental tragedy and the Venezuelan people will pay the price for decades to come. Americans are also at risk as he funds anti-American candidates and radicals all over Latin America.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 6:08pm
Living in Terror
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Let me ask you a hypothetical question. What do you think America would do if Canadian soldiers were firing dozens of missiles every day into Buffalo, N.Y.? What do you think our response would be if Mexican troops for two years had launched daily rocket attacks on San Diego -- and bragged about it?
I can tell you, our response would look nothing like Israel's restrained and pinpoint reactions to daily missile attacks from Gaza. We would use whatever means necessary to win the war. There would likely be numerous casualties on our enemy's side, but we would rightfully hold those who attacked us responsible.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 5:38pm
Podcast Special Episode #6- Plutonic Warming
Fred Thompson talks about global warming. And Martian Warming. And Plutonic warming.
Original blog text can be found here.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 3:34pm
I Remember
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I remember when I was a kid; one thing was clear to me. The more I learned about the rest of the world, the luckier I felt just having been born in America. The more I learned about America, the more I appreciated what those who came before us built; and how exceptional they were.
Not that there aren't other great places to live, but America is unique. It's not just that we are the freest and most prosperous country the world has ever seen. America has also freed more people than any other nation in history.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 4:17pm
Podcast Special Episode #5 - Bringing Medical Records into the 21st Century
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You may have heard me the other day defending the American medical system as the best in the world. That doesn't mean, though, there aren't problems we should fix.
One of these problems is that there's no way for most of us to get to our medical records without jumping through hoops. Not only do we end up filling out the same medical forms over and over, we pay both in lives and money.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 3:32pm
Podcast Special Episode #4 - A New News World
Fred Thompson talks about the new media and the way it's changing the way we get our news.
Original blog text can be found here.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 5:54pm
Podcast Special Episode #3 - A Terrorist's Confessions
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It is a very good thing we captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed when we did. We've just seen the transcripts of a hearing they held for the 9/11 mastermind at Guantanamo Bay.
He admitted responsibility for the September 11th attacks "from A to Z," in his words. And he talked about other plots, many of which never happened. The head of the ABC New investigative unit counted it all up.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 3:30pm
Tolerating Trafficking
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I'm never particularly surprised when the United Nations seems to oppose human freedom rather than promote it. At least a third of its member nations aren't democratic themselves. Many that claim to be, are only barely so.
An organization that treats democracies and dictators equally cannot be expected to be a pure force for good. When Fidel Castro and Kim Jong Il have as much say in U.N. matters as the entire populations of Poland and New Zealand, you're going to have problems.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 4:50pm
The Immigration Bill: Comprehensive or Incomprehensible?
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Most Americans know that we have an illegal immigration problem in this country, with perhaps as many as 20 million people residing here unlawfully. And I think most Americans have a pretty good idea about how to at least start solving the problem – secure our nation’s borders.
But there’s an old saying in Washington that, in dealing with any tough issue, half the politicians hope that citizens don’t understand it while the other half fear that people actually do. This kind of thinking was apparent with the “comprehensive” immigration reform bill that the U.S. Senate and the White House negotiated yesterday.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 4:01pm
You’re Listening to Radio Free Congress
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I had planned on talking a bit today about Venezuela. The president there doesn't like the way his media is covering him, so he's doing away with the free press. He's established rules on what he thinks is fair, and he’s denying licenses to television and radio stations that don't play by government rules.
I can't criticize him now, though. After all, how would it seem for me to complain about another country, when our own congressional leadership is trying to put the same sort of rules in place here? To do so, they're pulling the Fairness Doctrine out of the dustbin of history.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 5:12pm
Those Who Cannot Remember the Past
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If you went to college in the sixties, like I did, you might not know how much higher education has changed since then. Universities today are different places. At Vanderbilt, where I got my law degree, I hear you can take courses in third wave feminism or colonial governmentality.
Your guess is as good as mine.
On the other hand, some of the courses that we took for granted aren't around at all. One area of study that's almost disappeared from universities today is military history -- the history of warfare.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 5:33pm
It’s a Small World After All
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Just when you think you’ve seen just about everything; in this case I’m talking about that video of the Palestinian children's show featuring a costumed Mickey Mouse character. An awful lot of you have watched this footage, posted on Websites and then played on television news shows. For the few who haven't, the squeaky-voiced Disney icon is shown encouraging Palestinian children to become martyrs in the struggle to achieve worldwide domination -- starting with the destruction of Israel.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 6:05pm
Podcast Special Episode #2 - Power of The President - Strength is Necessary
Click here to listen to the original radio commentary this transcript is based on.
Once again the Washington scandal machine is in full frenzy. This time the hapless Justice Department is baring the brunt. It’s over the administration’s firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year. Who’s responsible for this atrocity? The aide at Justice in charge of the firings has been run out of town. Yesterday’s Washington Post front-page headline read “firings had genesis in White House.” The Democrats vow congressional hearings to determine if (if you can imagine this) politics were involved. Even Senator Chuck Schumer of New York was able to be coaxed into saying a few words. “Just when we thought our faith could not be shaken any further” he said.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 6:47pm
Podcast Special Episode #1 - The Case for Competence: What Government's Missing
Fred Thompson talks about Casey Stengel and government incompetency.
This broadcast originally aired on Paul Harvey News & Comment (3/13/07).
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posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 4:54pm
Podcast Episode #4 - Armed with the Truth
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posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 4:30pm
If you care about Constitutional law, and everybody should, the big news is that it looks as if the Supreme Court is going to hear a Second Amendment case some time next year. The event that sparked this legal fuse was a case brought by six D.C. residents who simply wanted functional firearms in their homes for self-defense. In response, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down the District's 31-year-old gun ban -- one of the strictest in the nation.
Our individual right to keep and bear arms, as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, may finally be confirmed by the high court; but this means that we're going to see increasing pressure on the Supreme Court from anti-gun rights activists who want the Constitution reinterpreted to fit their prejudices. The New York Times has already fired the first broadside.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 4:15pm
Podcast Episode #3 - A Toast to Monsieur Sarkozy
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posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 6:06pm
The election of Nicolas Sarkozy to the presidency of France has been a serious blow to those who claim that America has earned the undying hatred of Europeans. Oh, to be sure, the French media hates us, but there are a lot of people who say ours does too. Regardless, Sarkozy's victory has sent shock waves through the world's media centers.
A French president who openly admires America is an embarrassment to those who view us as the bumpkin cousins of the sophisticated Europeans. American pundits and politicians who say we should change our foreign policies to win the European popularity contest ought to be feeling a little embarrassed too.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 5:14pm
Podcast Episode #2 - Tenet’s Time with Tim
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posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 10:39pm
I watched George Tenet’s interview with Tim Russert on “Meet the Press” Sunday. Tenet’s new book gives his version of history leading up to September 11. It’s almost obligatory nowadays; after you have been in the inner circles of an administration, you write a “tell all” book, including private conversations with even the President himself.
I haven’t read the book, but I have followed the media accounts. My attention was drawn to Tenet’s statements that al Qaeda is here and waiting and that they wish nothing more than to be able to see a mushroom cloud above the United States.
Naturally, the media emphasis is not on that. Its attention is on any differences Tenet had with the administration. The media’s premise is that Iraq should not have been considered a real threat to us and that the administration basically misled the country into war. While one may take issue with Tenent on several things, I was intrigued that on some very important issues, Tenent did not follow the media script when answering Russert’s questions.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 10:36pm
Podcast Episode #1 - The Shores of Tripoli
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posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 6:38pm
From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli. We fight our country's battles in the air, on land and sea. First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean; We are proud to claim the title of United States Marine.
That’s from the Marine Corp Hymn, of course, and you can thank me for not singing it. When I was a boy, a lot of America kids knew that verse -- and probably a few more. I hope they still do, but I get the impression that might not be the case.
That's one reason I'd like to spend some time talking about the heritage this song represents. Another reason is that the lyrics hold a history lesson critical to America’s future. I realize a lot of you already know this material, but indulge me for the sake of those who might not.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 2:52pm
Excerpt: Prepared Remarks for Speech to Lincoln Club Annual Dinner
Delivered in Orange County, California, Friday, May 4, 2007
So we meet again, and I'm honored, because I know we're here for the same reasons: Love of our country and concern for our future.
A lot of Americans have these concerns tonight. They are concerned about the way things are going in our country right now. Some fear we may be in the first stages of decline. We've heard this malaise talk before.
Of course Iraq is a large part of it. Not only is it tough going, but the effort is besieged on all sides. From those playing the most crass kind of politics with it at home to criticism from around the world.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 3:41pm
Images of Oppression
Sometimes, you read or hear something, and an image forms in your mind that just won't go away. For me, one of those images comes from the 2002 news stories about religious police in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, who beat young girls trying to escape a burning school. Because they weren’t wearing headscarves and black robes, 15 innocent girls were locked in a blazing building to burn while firemen watched helplessly.
Not all Saudis support this sort of extremism, but many Muslim radicals reject the premise that women should have even the most basic rights. These include the right to vote, to work, to drive, to choose one's own husband, to charge a man with abuse or simply to move about without male escort.
One of the worst examples of this gender oppression was Afghanistan during the Taliban days. Women were not allowed to go to school, to work outside the home or even go out in public without a male family member. A woman with a medical emergency, but no male relatives to take her to a doctor, was expected simply to suffer or die. An aged woman with no one to bring her food was expected to starve. Too many did.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 1:51pm
The Myth of Cuban Health Care
You might have read the stories about filmmaker Michael Moore taking ailing workers from Ground Zero in Manhattan to Cuba for free medical treatments. According to reports, he filmed the trip for a new movie that bashes America for not having government-provided health care.
Now, I have no expectation that Moore is going to tell the truth about Cuba or health care. I defend his right to do what he does, but Moore's talent for clever falsehoods has been too well documented. Simply calling his movies documentaries rather than works of fiction, I think, may be the biggest fiction of all.
While this PR stunt has obviously been successful -- here I am talking about it -- Moore's a piker compared to Fidel Castro and his regime. Moore just parrots the story they created -- one of the most successful public relations coups in history. This is the story of free, high quality Cuban health care.
posted by Fred Dalton Thompson at 11:33am