Free Republic

Top IRS officials have been working with Democrats on Capitol Hill to determine how the agency will enforce President Obama’s new health care law. Republican lawmakers estimate the legislation will require the hiring of many thousands of new tax enforcement agents. While it’s still not known exactly how many will be hired, here’s what’s clear: Under the new law, the IRS is required to fine taxpayers thousands of dollars if they do not purchase health insurance. In order for the government to enforce compliance, tax authorities will need information, for the first time, about people’s health care. Collecting that data...

By Stefanie Geisler, Globe Correspondent A Manchester-by-the-Sea man arrested for stockpiling weapons and ammunition in his home allegedly told police he was preparing for Armageddon. Gregory D. Girard, 45, was arrested Tuesday night for allegedly storing approximately 20 weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Just before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Manchester-by-the Sea police executed a search warrant at 23 Bridge St., police said. Girard faces four counts of possession of an infernal device and four counts of possession of a dangerous weapon. Additional charges are pending, police said. “Mr. Girard indicated he was preparing for ‘Armageddon,’ which he felt was...

PHOENIX — Saying it would protect students and staffers, a veteran state lawmaker wants to let some faculty members carry their weapons onto university and community college campuses. Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, said existing restrictions in state law keep everyone but police from legally having a gun on campuses. The problem, he said, is those who want to harm someone else are not going to be deterred by that restriction. "It's a long-time goal of mine to make sure there are no defense-free zones where criminals know they can go into an establishment and there'll be no law-abiding citizens there...

"This is certainly nothing to celebrate. The glorification of the incident online and around town belies the horror of the killing and its aftermath. Even if it ultimately is judged to have been legally justified, the question of whether the situation couldn't have been handled differently will remain."

PHOENIX – Police in Phoenix say they've arrested a woman accused of leading an armed robbery gang involving her 12- and 14-year-old sons. Police say 51-year-old Cynthia White Roberson coached some of the four boys and three men who would face charges with her. The suspects are accused of at least 20 armed robberies in Phoenix and Glendale since late April. Police say Roberson lost her job six weeks ago and guilted her sons and some of the others into committing the robberies to pay for rent and a car loan.

Shooter was defending himself with shotgun, DA says Based on the information provided to the Yolo County District Attorney's Office by the West Sacramento Police Department regarding the Wednesday fatal shooting on Cummins Way in West Sacramento, no charges will be filed against Michael Moniz, 23, at this time. The evidence presented established that Joe Villanueva, 32, who was shot and killed in the attack, initiated the initial confrontation as he stood in the street and began shooting a handgun at people in the front yard of 1101 Cummins Way around 6 p.m. During that assault, police reported that bullets...

Law enforcement officers Wednesday continued praising the efforts of an armed couple, who stopped a burglary at their home Tuesday, as a search of a New Philadelphia suspect’s residence revealed a huge amount of evidence from past burglaries. “They broke the case,” said Detective Jeff Moore of the Tuscarawas County Sheriff Department, referring to the Roswell area couple who held Thomas Ritchie, 30, of New Philadelphia and William Allison II, 25, of Massillon at gunpoint until sheriff’s deputies arrived. “They broke the case for numerous detectives who are all smiling at this point in time,” Moore said as he participated...

Rep. Bachmann has made good on her word and showed up outside the White House this morning, shotgun in hand, ready to start a revolution! To a press conference of three, Bachmann stated, “I have called upon thousands of loyal Americans to march here this morning, with whatever weapons they have on hand: butter knives, slingshots, silly string, water balloons… Anything that’s going to let the Washington Elite know that we are serious!”

Police traced the suspect in a Monday burglary at a North Hero house because he abandoned his car at the scene while under fire from the homeowner, who said he could have killed the intruder but wanted only to force the man to surrender. Authorities Tuesday arrested Eric Edson, 37, of Burlington after using Department of Motor Vehicles information to present homeowner Jim Melanson with a photo lineup, according to Vermont State Police in St. Albans. Melanson, meanwhile, recounted his confrontation with the burglar -- a heart-racing encounter the 51-year-old self-employed electrician said lasted three to five minutes, but felt...

A map of President Bush's motorcade to Camp David was found last week in the possession of a teenager accused of stockpiling weapons and bomb-making materials, according to prosecutors. With the possibility that the motorcade was a target, federal authorities have joined police in investigating Collin Matthew McKenzie-Gude, 18, who allegedly was storing the weapons and materials just outside Washington, D.C., at the Bethesda, Md., home where he lives with his parents. MyFOXDC.com reports that Assistant State's Attorney Peter Feeney disclosed the discovery of the map of Camp David during a court hearing on Tuesday in Rockville, Md. The map...

Britain's Armed Forces 'stretched beyond their capabilities' by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent Last Updated: 10:12PM BST 24/06/2008 Britain's Armed Forces cannot go on running two major military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the head of the Armed Forces has admitted. There are 4,000 British troops in Iraq and numbers in Afghanistan will soon exceed 8,000 The two wars have left the Forces "stretched beyond the capabilities we have," Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said. It is the first time the most senior officer in the British military has expressed such grave doubts about...

During the decades the American Rifleman has published “The Armed Citizen”

Defensive Thoughts for the Day Get Good With Gun Gab by Greg Perry Always practice your response when asked why you carry a gun or what you think of gun control. Through the years several writers and enthusiasts have written great sound bites you can use. Gun people love to exchange gun-related effective statements that are funny, cut to the heart of gun controls evil, promote freedom & defense, or all of the above. Being armed emotionally and conversationally is almost as important as being armed with bullets that fly out your guns muzzle. The left thinks it owns the...

WASHINGTON - U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man carrying a rifle outside the Capitol building Friday, authorities said. The man was in custody and no one was injured, police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. An officer first spotted the man near Union Station, about two blocks from the Capitol. A car belonging to the suspect was being searched.

FORT HUACHUCA — The head of the House Armed Services Committee will visit the post Friday and Saturday. Isaac Newton “Ike” Skelton IV, the Democratic representative from Missouri’s 4th District, will be coming to the post, and later travel to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, to receive mission briefings and to meet with soldiers and airmen and their families, according to C.J. Karamargin, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, whose 8th Congressional District includes both military installations. Democrat Giffords, who is a member of the committee, invited the chairman to look at key installations in her district, Karamargin said....

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2007 – The U.S. military’s most senior enlisted member locked up his office yesterday in pursuit of other seniors – senior citizens living in the Armed Forces Retirement Home here. Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, jokes with Army veteran Jo Colvard-Willa Cooper about being married to a sailor, Aug. 8, 2007. Gainey and his joint travel team spent their workday visiting the Armed Forcers Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. Photo by Sheila R. Abarr  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Command...

One man was killed and another wounded after being shot in Queens late Tuesday by a contractor who told investigators that the men had demanded $20,000 from him and threatened to harm his wife, law enforcement officials said. The contractor, Lulzim Kupi, 42, told investigators he shot the men in self-defense. He was expected to be charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, the police said. One man who was shot, Redinel Dervishaj, 32, was in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital Center with gunshot wounds to the arm and torso, law enforcement officials said. The other man,...

GREENCASTLE - An Antrim Township mini-mart owner who has been the victim of several recent burglaries shot an intruder during a confrontation early Thursday, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Merlony Colaco, 29, has seen his Molly Pitcher Mini-Mart at 13640 Molly Pitcher Highway burglarized more than half a dozen times since March. Colaco has owned the store for a year and a half. The first year was relatively tranquil, but in March the establishment was robbed four times in 14 days. In one incident, Colaco held a woman at bay with a gun until police arrived. On Thursday at 1:46...

A Gainesville man awoke to the sounds of a dog fight early Monday. When he walked outside, he found his dog locked in the jaws of a large pit bull. "I'm sound asleep and my wife says there's a dog fight in the yard," said Fletcher Sutton, 58. "And within 90 seconds I find myself standing in the yard in my bathrobe with a knife in one hand, a gun in the other and a dog dead between my legs." ...