Free Republic

DECATUR, Ala. — One evening last fall, an informant for the Morgan County sheriff entered the office of a small construction business near this old river town and, he said, secretly installed spyware on a company computer. He had no warrant. The sheriff, Ana Franklin, wanted to know who was leaking information about her to a blogger known as the Morgan County Whistleblower. The blogger had been zeroing in on the sheriff’s finances, specifically $150,000 that by law should have gone toward feeding inmates in the county jail. Instead it had been invested in a now-bankrupt used-car dealership run by...

Earlier this month, we noted that California faced a lawsuit from the Department of Justice over its new status as a “Sanctuary State“. Several red and purple states have now boarded this particular “Trump Train”. Texas and more than a dozen other states led by Republican governors got behind the Trump administration on Monday in its lawsuit over California’s so-called sanctuary laws that protect people in the U.S. illegally. California’s laws are designed to interfere with or block federal immigration enforcement but the state does not have that authority, the other states said in a court filing in the U.S....

Just saw this on Twitter: #ThePersistence ‏ Verified account @ScottPresler 13m13 minutes ago VICTORY: Congratulations to Rex Reynolds on his win in Alabama's 21st House District! This is a district that Doug Jones won with 55% of the vote. Thank you to everyone who voted. #AL21 #HD21 21 replies 176 retweets 405 likes

DOTHAN - "Man, that's a brand new car," Reverend Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow told a bystander as he was escorted over to a Dothan Police Department vehicle Sunday night. The car he was referencing was a 2018 Toyota Camry that was in the middle of a murder crime scene at the intersection of Lake Street and Allen Road. Glasgow indicated to the bystander that the Camry belonged to him, and the vehicle may have had damage from gunshots. Glasgow, 52, wasn't wearing handcuffs, but he did ride in the backseat of the DPD vehicle away from the scene. "We were ducked...

Evan McMullin doesn’t want you to know who his donors are. The failed Never Trump presidential candidate has stayed in the public eye as a sort of attack dog against President Trump and other Republicans, while keeping secret the names of the donors paying him to do so. McMullin’s recently founded non-profit organization, Stand Up Republic, jumped into the Alabama Senate race this week with a $500,000 ad buy against Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore. One of the ads features a man saying Roy Moore “makes Republicans and us Christians look bad.”

Sen. Doug Jones (D.), Alabama's new addition to the halls of Congress, used his maiden speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate to call for unity in the gun control debate, even while he attacked the National Rifle Association's "extreme positions" and called for sweeping gun control measures. Jones, who won a special election in December to fill the seat vacated when Jeff Sessions accepted his post as attorney general, began the speech on Wednesday by denouncing the partisan atmosphere of Washington, D.C. Jones, having denounced how partisanship and gridlock have replaced compromise and consensus, then segued into addressing...

Significant damage has been reported at Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Athletic director Greg Seitz said in a tweet Monday evening, "I can confirm we have major roof damage at Pete Mathews Coliseum, but The Pete is not completely destroyed." He said there was extensive damage in Jacksonville.

Full Title: Obscure pre-WWII law allowed Alabama sheriff Todd Entrekin to LEGALLY pocket at least $750,000 in taxpayer funds GADSDEN, Ala. — An Alabama sheriff legally used more than $750,000 of funds meant to feed inmates to purchase a beach house. Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin told The Birmingham News he follows a state law passed before World War II that allows sheriffs to keep “excess” inmate-feeding funds for themselves. Entrekin reported on state ethics forms that he made “more than $250,000” each of the past three years through the funds. The sheriff’s annual salary is more than $93,000. He...

When state Rep. Oliver Robinson used the mantle of his office to fight an environmental cleanup effort in north Birmingham, he did so because he was paid. He spoke out in public meetings. He copied and pasted letters written for him by alleged co-conspirators onto his official letterhead. He encouraged people who lived in those polluted neighborhoods to not get their soil tested for toxic substances. Again, he did all this because he was getting paid. He said so in his plea deal with federal prosecutors. But when those same folks -- the ones accused of paying Robinson -- needed...

“States rights” was a curse in the mouths of liberals when it came to condemning southern segregationists in the Jim Crow era. But for liberals today, the right of states like California to defy federal immigration law has suddenly become a hallowed principle. Take Joseph Alioto Veronese, candidate for San Francisco DA. On his Fox News show tonight, Tucker Carlson challenged Veronese: “it is now illegal for private citizens in California to assist federal law enforcement authorities [regarding illegal immigration] . . . how is that different from what happened in the South in the ’50s and ’60s?” Responded Veronese:...

Cameron Ross Burgess, known as just Cam to many friends, was a normal college student at Auburn University who liked to travel to the beach, watch movies and play video games, a former college friend said. "We were good friends in college," said Chris Call, in an interview with AL.com. "He liked to joke around. He was kind, had an infectious laugh."

Maxine Waters just cranked the identity politics up to “max.” The Democratic California congresswoman delivered an emotional address in Selma, Ala. on Saturday, telling her audience that she will sponsor legislation to provide African Americans with “reparations” for slavery if Democrats take back the House in this year’s midterm elections. Waters also took aim at President Trump, criticizing his feud with Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. “This business about who’s the biggest, who’s the baddest, who’s got the biggest gun,” Waters said. “This president keeps edging that on. You know, he’s a bully. He has a bully mentality.” The 79-year-old lawmaker...

Kellyanne Conway, a top advisor to President Donald Trump, violated the federal law prohibiting some political activity by high-level officials with her comments in two television interviews about the special election for a Senate seat from Alabama, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Tuesday. That investigatory office said it has sent its report on Conway's actions to Trump for "appropriate disciplinary action." But the White House quickly disputed the report's findings on Conway's so-called Hatch Act violations. The report said that in her two TV interviews, "Conway appeared in her official capacity" and in one case "advocated against one...

Alabamians are ready for more gun control. At least that’s what their Democratic Sen. Doug Jones said. Jones wants tighter background checks for gun sales and to raise the age requirement to purchase a gun from 18 to 21, and he thinks Alabamians are on the same page. “People in Alabama love their guns, but they also love their children,” Jones told CNN Friday at an event at Birmingham’s Civil Rights Institute sponsored by the Faith and Politics Institute, NOLA.com reported. “And they like to be safe in theaters, and they like to be safe in churches, and I think...

Alabama on Thursday halted the execution of an inmate who had argued that his veins were too damaged for lethal injection, because medical staff did not think they could connect the intravenous line by the time the death warrant expired at midnight. Alabama Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said the prison system halted Doyle Lee Hamm's execution around 11:30 p.m. "out of an abundance of caution" after medical staff said they did not think they could obtain "the appropriate venous access" before midnight. "It was a time issue," Dunn said. "I wouldn't necessarily characterize what we had tonight as a problem....

A Mobile police officer has died after being shot Tuesday night. The officer has been identified as Justin Billa. The incident stemmed from an incident earlier Tuesday evening, when police found a woman named Fonda Poellnitz dead. Investigators quickly identified her ex-husband, Robert Hollie, as a person of interest in her killing and went to his Toulminville home.When officers arrived, Mobile Police Chief Lawrence Battiste said they told Hollie to come out. Instead, Hollie began shooting and struck Billa. At least one officer fired shots back at Hollie.Billa was rushed to the University of South Alabama Medical Center, where he...

An Alabama representative, Lynn Greer (R), has filed a bill to clarify Alabama law to include churches with dwellings that have protection under the law to use deadly force to protect the people inside from attack.  On 15 February, 2018, the bill was passed with overwhelming support, 40 to 16, in the House.  39 Republicans and 1 Democrat voted for the bill, 2 Republicans and 14 Democrats voted against it. From montgomeryadvertiser.com: The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Greer, R-Rogersville, would add houses of worship to the state’s 2006 law, allowing a person to use physical force against anyone...

"I am just begging them to forgive us, because we sold them. Our forefathers sold their brothers and sisters. I am not the person to talk to them. No! May their souls rest in peace, perfect peace. They should forgive us. They should," Posset said, wiping tears from his cheeks. "Qualified people will come and talk to them in due time. I feel so sad."

Alabama beats California — and no, I’m not talking about college football. Many Californians would bristle at the notion of being bested by Alabama. But employers aren’t so picky: Toyota and Mazda announced recently they’ll invest north of $1.6 billion dollars to build a new factory and create over 4,000 good-paying jobs in Limestone County, Alabama. This only increases the state’s vehicle production: In 2016, Alabama assembled over one million vehicles employing over 40,000 employees. Fifteen states were competing for the Toyota-Mazda joint venture; California was not even on the bench. Perhaps Toyota remembers its experience with GM at New...

A 15-year-old Dothan High School student was arrested and jailed Friday after other students told school officials he threatened to "shoot up the school," according to Dothan police.