Free Republic

Should someone be fired from their job and threatened with violence, torture, even death because they have an opinion different than yours? Of course not. And yet, that is what Adam M. Smith of Arizona says happened to him. Adam Smith’s life has been turned upside-down in the 36 hours that followed his posting the video of his protest at Chick-fil-A, which involved letting a young, female employee at the drive-thru know what he thinks about the company. (You can watch the video here.)

A Phoenix pastor who was jailed for holding a Bible study group on his private property is now holding one behind bars. Michael Salman is serving a 60-day sentence in Maricopa County's notorious Tent City jail for allegedly violating his probation by holding religious services on his property in violation of zoning and building codes. He was arrested July 9, after authorities charged the one-time gang member hosted Bible sessions for as many 80 people on his 4-acre property, which he tried to claim as a tax-exempt church. [Snip] The married father of six is an ordained pastor of...

PHOENIX -- Maricopa County sheriff's detectives have submitted charges against a former inmate for false reporting to law enforcement officers. The charges stem from reports that Kolton Clark, 18, had been assaulted by detention officers while incarcerated in the Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix. Clark was taken into custody in July on two counts of misdemeanor assault then released on a $200 bond shortly after being questioned. Detectives began an investigation after receiving information that Clark's family was concerned that he had been beaten, tased and Maced by detention officers while inside an isolation safe cell at the jail....

To protect mothers as well as their preborn children, Arizona lawmakers passed H.B. 1036—a bill banning elective abortions after 20 weeks. Although the legislation was aptly titled “The Mother’s Health and Safety Act,” the ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights sued to block its implementation. But a federal judge just ruled for mothers, and as a result, the law will take effect in Arizona. Arizona now joins Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, all of which already have bans on abortion after 20 weeks in place. And these complement 20 other states that have bans on abortion...

TUCSON, AZ — The following is a statement from Vante: Vante regrets the unfortunate events that transpired yesterday in Tucson between our former CFO/Treasurer Adam Smith and an employee at Chick-fil-A. Effective immediately, Mr. Smith is no longer an employee of our company. The actions of Mr. Smith do not reflect our corporate values in any manner. Vante is an equal opportunity company with a diverse workforce, which holds diverse opinions. We respect the right of our employees and all Americans to hold and express their personal opinions, however, we also expect our company officers to behave in a manner...

Adam Smith, the man who videotaped himself getting free water at a Chick-Fil-A drive-thru just to berate the young woman as been fired. Smith in his video said he was happy to feel "purposeful" in condemning the Chick-Fil-A employee over CEO Dan Cathy's same-sex-marriage remarks. The video went viral and citizen journalists tracked him down online and grabbed copies of his resume. His employer, Vante, released this statement a bit ago: Vante of Tucson, AZ Regrets Actions of Former CFO Employee Has Left the Company TUCSON, AZ--(Marketwire - Aug 2, 2012) - The following is a statement from Vante: Vante...

On Wednesday, one protestor recorded himself venting to a drive-through clerk at a Tucson Chick-fil-A. He was met with polite professionalism. He soon removed the video, which was re-uploaded by viewers. http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=Jg-jzlWcc0E

August 02, 2012 17:02 ET Vante of Tucson, AZ Regrets Actions of Former CFO Employee Has Left the Company TUCSON, AZ--(Marketwire - Aug 2, 2012) - The following is a statement from Vante: Vante regrets the unfortunate events that transpired yesterday in Tucson between our former CFO/Treasurer Adam Smith and an employee at Chick-fil-A. Effective immediately, Mr. Smith is no longer an employee of our company. The actions of Mr. Smith do not reflect our corporate values in any manner. Vante is an equal opportunity company with a diverse workforce, which holds diverse opinions. We respect the right of our...

...Arpaio is an unabashed carnival barker. And his antics might be amusing if he weren't also notorious for being not just the toughest but the most corrupt and abusive sheriff in America. As Arizona has become center stage for the debate over illegal immigration and the civil rights of Latinos, Arpaio has sold himself as the symbol of nativist defiance, a modern-day Bull Connor bucking the federal government over immigration policy.... ...Arpaio is so obsessed with the often illusory crimes of immigrants that he ignored more than 400 cases of sexual abuse he was responsible for investigating, including assaults on...

Watch this short video clip to watch a lefty in action.

Washington, DC -(Ammoland.com)- Today, two state level pro-suppressor laws go into effect in Arizona and Minnesota. Signed into law on March 29 by Governor Jan Brewer, House Bill 2728 grants hunters in Arizona the right to use legally owned suppressors while hunting game animals. With the passage of the law, Arizona became the second state in 2012 to legalize suppressor use while hunting. Similar measures were also passed in Texas and Oklahoma. On April 18, Governor Mark Dayton of Minnesota signed HF 1816 into law, allowing Federal Firearms Licensees with a Special Occupational Tax in Minnesota to possess suppressors to...

Full title: Several national figures are calling Wednesday “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day,” while other groups plan a "kiss-in" to protest the fast food chain over the CEO’s stance against gay marriage. Do you plan to support or protest the chicken chain? I’m supporting Chick-Fil-A. I’m boycotting Chick-Fil-A. Politics does not play a role in my lunch.

A busload of illegal immigrants has begun a month-long, cross-country tour of protests culminating at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., according to reports. Approximately 30 men and women departed Phoenix, Ariz., on Sunday on a trip scheduled to hit states that have passed aggressive laws against illegal immigration, reports the Charlotte Observer. The bus will pass through Colorado, New Orleans, Atlanta and several other cities en route to Charlotte, just before the start of the convention on Sept. 3, according to USA Today. “We are tired of the injustice,” Fernando Lopez, an illegal immigrant who is originally from...

Sen. John McCain today called a Newsweek article alleging tensions with Mitt Romney's presidential campaign "liberal left-wing trash." In the exclusive article, Newsweek Washington bureau chief and media critic Howard Kurtz reports that McCain has failed in his efforts to counsel Romney and is frustrated with his behind-the-scenes role on the campaign (Kurtz calls him a "caged lion"). "Four years after his own presidential bid, McCain’s luster as a Republican Party spokesman appears to have dimmed: a number of proposed campaign trips on Romney’s behalf have quietly evaporated, and there has been no offer of a speaking slot at the...

HOENIX (AP) — Seven people have died in a crash on Interstate 10 near Phoenix after a semitrailer truck crossed the highway's median and struck a van head on. Carrick Cook, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, says the victims were all inside the van when the crash happened Sunday about 60 miles west of Phoenix.

The Daily News BULLHEAD CITY — The Republican primary race for District 2 Mohave County supervisor has taken an ugly turn. Sup. Tom Sockwell and Mohave County Public Information Director Darryle Purcell have been circulating folders containing compromising information on a private citizen connected to the campaign of Sockwell’s challenger, Hildy Angius. Sockwell dropped off a folder at the Bullhead Area Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, while Purcell approached Mohave Valley Daily News reporter Jim Seckler on county property, handing him the folder and suggesting he write a story about a local Republican activist. It is against Daily News policy to...

Home / Nissan Leaf Range Loss Issues Persist In Arizona Published July 23, 2012 By Jeff Cobb 2012_nissan_leaf_06 Owners of the Nissan Leaf in Arizona have been chronicling complaints with Nissan whose representatives were initially said to be explaining away substantial range degradation, but now it appears Nissan is responding further to the heat. And perhaps that is appropriate as the heat of Arizona was what presumably created issues that have prompted a thread now 169 pages long on the MyNissanLEAF.com forum. As you can see in the video report, some owners have reported unacceptably significant degrees of range loss...

PHOENIX — The route they will take on their cross-country trek resembles a slithering snake — up, down and around in a series of intentional detours that are equal parts political strategy and provocation. Their bus leaves from this sprawling city in the desert at sunrise on Monday, carrying 30 men and women who say they have chosen to live in the shadows no more. If all goes as planned, they will get to Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 3, just as the Democratic National Convention is getting started. For the illegal immigrants taking the ride, it is time to make...

Charges of cover-ups, data manipulation, and junk science; noncompliance with congressional requests and mandates; putting a chokehold on energy: Interior scandals stack up. ... Scandal-wise, congressional spotlight-wise, and perhaps soon headline-wise, is Interior Secretary Ken Salazar the new Holder? The Interior Department has become synonymous with evading congressional requests in the investigation of how the Obama administration bent scientific reports to support its drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil spill. The department’s inspector general who was supposed to ensure oversight of that process is even being investigated herself on allegations that she tampered with a...

PHOENIX, July 26 (Reuters) - A deputy from a controversial Arizona sheriff's office countered a ccusations of racial profiling on Thursday, telling a court that he had risked his life to rescue a Latino illegal immigrant from armed kidnappers. Carlos Rangel told a civil trial alleging Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio that, at the behest of federal immigration police, he went undercover to play the role of the immigrant's relative to meet kidnappers, one of whom pointed a gun at him. The kidnappers were arrested and the immigrant was released. Asked by defense lawyer Tom Liddy, Rangel if he was...