Free Republic

I have been wondering for a year now which American city will be first to lose its only daily newspaper. The results are in, and the dubious distinction goes to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the Newhouse family's Advance will shutter The Ann Arbor News in late July. Ann Arbor? Home to the huge University of Michigan, birthplace and headquarters of the Borders book chain and a pocket of relative prosperity with only light collateral damage from the auto industry, a literate place, population around 100,000, one might expect to be appreciative of what print newspapers offer. But some of those...

On the Edge with Thayrone X from WAAM AM 1600 AM, Peoples' Republic of Ann Arbor. Broadcasting from 4 to 6 pm est. If you're into Political Incorrectness, then listen and call in. http://www.waamannarbor.com/

Washtenaw County received a $4.1 million dose of stimulus money for its residential weatherization program. The program, which normally exists on a $350,000 annual budget, has 18 months to spend the money. Program coordinator Aaron Kraft said the funds should help assist some 600 low- to moderate-income households to make their homes more weather-proof. The program performs energy audits for homeowners. Based on the audit's findings, the program funds energy-saving retrofits like new insulation and efficient appliances. The program doesn't pay for aesthetic improvements such as new carpet or paint. An average of about $4,500 is spent per house.

DETROIT -- Big financial institutions have been battered by mortgages gone bad. But a tiny Michigan bank is getting attention in the industry by turning a profit on loans without even charging interest. Its specialty: financial products that comply with Islamic law. That means no collecting interest, no short selling and no contracts that are considered exceedingly risky. It also rules out some of the activity that got Western finance in trouble — subprime mortgages, credit default swaps and the like. "When you look at the economic crisis we're in, if you were to follow Islamic or Sharia financing, you...

In a decidedly Democratic town awash in a sea of Barack Obama political signs, William Wedemeyer knows he is going against the political grain with the McCain-Palin sign he proudly displays on the front lawn of his Ann Arbor home. Still, Wedemeyer was taken aback when he recently received a package in the mail addressed to "Joe Six Pack'' and containing a couple of bags of dog feces. He said he'd like a few minutes alone with whoever sent it. "I'd like to have a five-minute talk about First Amendment rights,'' said Wedemeyer, who lives on the 1000 block of...

Racist slurs were spray-painted across a large Barack Obama presidential campaign billboard alongside a heavily trafficked stretch of US-23 in Pittsfield Township sometime overnight Tuesday. And the U.S. Secret Service is investigating what now appears to be two threatening letters against Obama that were received in Livingston County, according to news reports. Michigan State Police were on the scene of the billboard Wednesday morning, and have called in for tracking dogs, police said. Black spray paint was used to draw three swastikas, symbols of Klan hoods and to write "KKK," "Rebel" and two racial slurs. The billboard, roughly 10 feet...

<p>What Happened At Three Ex-Terrorists Speaking Event At University of Michigan Last Night.</p> <p>"We should raise our flag, our American flag, and say, Allah bless America," Saleem said. "Because - after all - if we don't like her, we should leave her." Kamal Saleem, One of Three Ex-Terrorists Speakers.</p>

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte met Friday with Iraq's prime minister in the second visit this week by a top U.S. official. The unannounced meeting comes amid spiraling violence that included seven American deaths and the discovery of 56 bodies in the Iraqi capital bearing signs of torture. The bodies found scattered around Baghdad were of Iraqi men between 20 and 45 years old, and all were apparent victims of sectarian death squads, police said Friday.All wore civilian clothes and had been bound at the wrists and ankles, police Lt. Mohammed Khayon said. He said the...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A bank that has been offering special services for Muslims for two years has now formed a subsidiary to focus solely on the religious group.The Ann Arbor-based University Bank has created University Islamic Financial Corp. to offer Muslims home financing, deposit accounts and Islamic mutual fund shares."The formation of the subsidiary allows us to have a financial institution which is 100 percent in compliance with the Muslim Shariah, the legal code of the Islamic religion," bank President and Chairman Stephen Lange Ranzini told The Ann Arbor News for a Saturday story.Among the laws of Shariah...

An oversupply in housing that has been troubling other southeast Michigan communities has hit Washtenaw County in full force. The result has been stagnant home values for the past two years. There's also evidence that values may be depreciating slightly as competition forces down prices. Experts say the poor Michigan economy, coupled with a flood of new houses, has created the strong buyer's market. "The inventory is greater than Ann Arbor really has ever seen,'' said Elizabeth Brien, a leading agent with the Charles Reinhart Co., a real estate firm dealing with properties throughout Washtenaw County. "And I think it's...

Lone Republican won't run for re-election Reid to give up seat on Ann Arbor City Council Saturday, April 30, 2005 BY TOM GANTERT News Staff Reporter Saying he wants to spend more time with his family, the Ann Arbor City Council's lone Republican said he will not seek re-election to a third term. Mike Reid, R-2nd Ward, said he is stepping down after four years. Reid's departure gives Democrats an opportunity to claim all 11 seats on the council. "That would be - I hate to say the word 'travesty' - but it would be," said Marlene Chockley, treasurer of...

Appeals court tosses same-sex benefits case on technicality 4/15/2005, 4:53 p.m. ET By DAVID EGGERT The Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state appeals court on Friday dismissed a challenge to the Ann Arbor school district's same-sex benefits policy but avoided the bigger legal issue by tossing out the case on a technicality. The court said 17 taxpayers, represented by a Christian law group, failed to follow the proper procedures for halting the alleged misappropriation of public dollars. Barring an appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court, the ruling means the broader issue will be decided by a lower court,...

Scalia Sounds Off on Religious Rulings ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Tuesday that judges should look to historical practices when ruling on religious issues. Speaking at the University of Michigan, Scalia criticized judges for using what he called "abstractions" to interpret religious issues when they should be looking to the text of the Constitution itself. "The Constitution says what it says and does not say what it does not say," he said. Scalia's appearance was sponsored by Ave Maria School of Law, a private school in Ann Arbor backed by Domino's Pizza founder...

Public School Must Pay for Censoring Christian Student 10/21/2004 By Anne F. Downey, Esq. Panel discussion bans traditional Biblical viewpoint on homosexuality. A federal district judge has ordered Michigan’s Ann Arbor Public Schools to pay $102,738 in attorney fees and costs in a case involving a high school’s refusal to let a Christian student express her views on homosexuality. In March 2002, at Pioneer High School’s “Diversity Week” program, Elizabeth “Betsy” Hansen, then a senior, was told she could not express her Roman Catholic viewpoint at the school’s “Homosexuality and Religion” panel discussion. The school also discriminated in limiting members...

Democratic lawmakers say law keeps college students from voting 9/26/2004, 8:22 a.m. ET By DAVID EGGERT The Associated Press EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Kurtis Hussler, an 18-year-old Michigan State University sophomore welcoming any excuse for a study break, heard a knock on his dorm room door the other night. The visitor was a member of the MSU College Democrats who, after a brief introduction, asked: "Are you registered to vote?" Hussler signed up within minutes. Though he had wanted to vote in November, the Cass City electrical engineering major admitted he would not have gotten around to registering. "I...

I have been receiving these SPAMS about twice a week. They appear to be generated from an IP that is part of the University of Michigan campus network. I called the U of M hotline to report abuse of their system, but I have a suspicion that the perp may be someone with admin privileges. Here is the SPAM (recipient email addresses have been removed for privacy) I am including only the first few paragraphs of this SPAM since it is so sickening. ----------------------------------------- Return-Path: Received: from inbound-mx8.atl.registeredsite.com ([64.224.219.118]) by imta03a2.registeredsite.com with ESMTP id <20040922010630.HBTN6886.imta03a2.registeredsite.com@inbound-mx8.atl.registeredsite.com> for <>; Tue, 21 Sep...

Police say a 21-year-old man dressed as Superman attacked some motorists in Ann Arbor early Sunday. A group of men stopped their car to talk to some friends outside an Ann Arbor home when the alleged attacker jumped out from behind some bushes and into the vehicle, "I guess this young man jumped in the back seat of the victim's vehicle and just started hitting him and when the victim attempted to call using his cell phone, (Superman) grabbed the cell phone and he stomped on it," said Sgt. Angella Abrams, of the Ann Arbor Police Department. The victims said...

Election problems serious, council told Former Ann Arbor city clerk says another disaster could happen Wednesday, April 7, 2004 BY TOM GANTERT News Staff Reporter Ann Arbor is unprepared for the November general election and would face "another serious disaster" if it were to hold an election anytime soon, the City Council was told Tuesday night. Winifred Northcross, the retired city clerk brought in by the city to examine the city's election readiness, said the clerk's office is in turmoil and there aren't enough qualified, experienced poll workers at the city's 48 polling precincts. The city recently fired the previous...

Politics and religion collide Pickets offend members of Beth Israel congregation Monday, March 29, 2004 BY LISA KLIONSKY News Staff Reporter They fan out on the sidewalk along Washtenaw Avenue, carrying large, blue-and-white signs reading "Free Palestine," "Stop U.S. Aid to Israel," and "Universalism not Zionism." They number a dozen or so. And they've been protesting each Saturday - the Jewish Sabbath - in front of the Beth Israel Congregation for more than six months. The weekly protest has been staged by a fledgling group known as Jewish Witnesses for Peace and friends that includes Jewish and Palestinian members. The...

<p>The anonymous posters began to speckle the campus of St. Lawrence University in upstate New York last month. They carried an eye-grabbing message--"Republicans: The Other White Meat."</p> <p>Elizabeth Wardell, a senior, thought she knew who was responsible for their appearance: a certain assistant professor with the reputation of a provocateur. Surfing around her school's Web site, she landed on the sociology department's homepage and read a paragraph about Robert J. Torres. Then she clicked on his name and was transported to his personal blog. There, Ms. Wardell--who is president of the local College Republicans--discovered an entry headlined "Fascist, Racist College Republicans."</p>