Free Republic

Texas school district OKs pistols for staff HARROLD, Texas — A tiny Texas school district may be the first in the nation to allow teachers and staff to pack guns for protection when classes begin later this month, a newspaper reported. Trustees at the Harrold Independent School District approved a district policy change last October so employees can carry concealed firearms to deter and protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting teachers follow certain requirements. In order for teachers and staff to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must be authorized to...

REVIEW & OUTLOOK The ABA Plots a Judicial Coup August 14, 2008; Page A12 Some bad ideas never seem to die, especially in the hands of a crafty attorney. That's the story now playing out at the American Bar Association, which voted at its annual meeting this week to endorse a version of "merit selection" for federal judges. What we have here is the latest lawyer-led attempt to strip judicial selection from future Presidents. According to the proposal, future federal judges would be selected not by an elected President, but with the aid of home-state Senators and a bipartisan commission...

Anybody want to talk about scooters and mini bikes? Face it, with these gas prices the idea makes sense. I have one that gets 80 MPG and tops out at 45 MPH. It cost less than $1500 and, in the State of Georgia, for less than 50cc, there is no registration, no advalorum tax and no special operator's license. Plus the insurance costs about $120 a year and there are special parking places available. I know these aren't Harley's, alright? But they sure are fun and CHEAP!!

REVIEW & OUTLOOK Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? May 14, 2008; Page A20 We can't wait to hear how Members of Congress explain their vote this week for the new $300 billion farm bill. At a time when Americans are squeezed at the grocery store, they will now see more of their taxes flow to the very farmers profiting from these high food prices. This year farm income is expected to reach an all-time high of $92.3 billion, an increase of 56% in two years, making growers perhaps the most undeserving welfare recipients in American history. But that won't...

Two Georgia gun dealers settle NYC lawsuit By RHONDA COOK The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 04/12/08 Two Georgia gun dealers have agreed to monitoring in settling the federal lawsuit brought against them in 2006 by New York City. That leaves only Smyrna-based Adventure Outdoors in an unusual case set for trial next month. The attorney for Adventure Outdoors said the shop will not settle with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who took the novel approach of suing 27 gun shops — eight in Georgia — because he said they were the sources of illegal guns recovered at crimes in that...

Reform a la Glasgow April 1, 2008; Page A16 The financial reform unveiled yesterday by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is nothing if not comprehensive. No bureaucratic deck chair goes unmoved. Partly for that reason it has as much chance of becoming law as those Citigroup SIVs have of paying off for investors. Fortunately, the real reformer is already hard at work, changing the financial system right before our eyes. His name is Adam Smith, and his relentless market discipline is already building a safer, more conservative financial system without any new regulation at all. For weeks now, structured-investment vehicles (SIVs),...

Georgia Republicans have a choice to make, a choice between math and myth. The math is pretty simple: We're heading into a major recession that a lot of economists predict could be deeper and longer than anything we've experienced in a generation or longer. Already, state revenues have begun to fall significantly, raising fear of budget shortfalls. Recession math smacks head-on into Reagan myth Jekyll Island deserves a planned, professional upgrade Local control trashed in great power grab of '08 Peeling off from the herd shows Obama's patriotism Speaker's tax proposal badly flawed Hillary's defeated; GOP sets its sights on...

REVIEW & OUTLOOK States of Opportunity February 12, 2008; Page A16 An old adage says high taxes don't redistribute income, they redistribute people. For new evidence look no further than migration patterns within the United States, as documented in a new survey by the moving company United Van Lines. A record eight million Americans -- some 20,000 people every day -- relocated to another state last year. So where are these families headed and why? The general picture is this: Americans are continuing to flee the Northeast and Midwest, while the leading destinations continue to be Southern and Western states....

OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C. — Fire ravaged a beach house occupied by more than a dozen college students early Sunday, killing seven and sending several more to a hospital. Six survivors were released after treatment, including one who jumped from the burning house into a waterway, Mayor Debbie Smith said. Officials had accounted for all of the 13 people believed to be inside the home, Smith said. "There were three kids sitting on the ground screaming," said newspaper deliverer Tim Burns, who called 911 after seeing a column of smoke rising from the house. "There was one guy hanging out...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — When artist John Sims sees the Confederate flag, he sees "visual terrorism," and a symbol of a racist past. When Robert Hurst sees the flag, he is filled with pride as the descendant of a soldier who fought for the South during the Civil War. Their differences have flared into a war of words, catching a local museum in the middle. An art exhibit by artist John Sims, entitled 'The Proper Way to Hang a Confederate Flag,' is show on display at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, Friday, March 16, 2007, in Tallahassee, Fla....

Eddie Feigner, the hard-throwing softball showman who barnstormed for more than 50 years with "The King and His Court" four-man team, died Friday. He was 81. Feigner, the former Marine known for his trademark crewcut and bulging right arm, died in Huntsville, Ala., from a respiratory ailment related to dementia, wife Anne Marie Feigner said Friday night. With a fastball once clocked at 104 mph, The King threw 930 no-hitters, 238 perfect games and struck out 141,517 batters while playing more than 10,000 games. He was inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame in 2000. A stroke in...

Congressman Norwood declines further cancer treatment By TOM BAXTER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 02/07/07 U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood has decided to forego treatment for lung cancer that has spread to his liver and will be returning to Georgia to receive hospice care, his office said Wednesday. John Stone, a spokesman for the Augusta Republican, said an air ambulance flight was being arranged and that he expected Norwood to be leaving Washington either Wednesday night or Thursday. Norwood, 65, suffers from a chronic lung disease, ideopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and received a lung transplant in 2004 at a hospital near the...

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV AND HEAR ANY U.S. PRESIDENT, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN, GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH? My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of Iraq regime has been completed. Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete. This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from Iraq . This action will be complete within 30 days. It is now to begin the reckoning. Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries...

I haven't seen a good zot in a long time? What gives? Have the moonbats relaxed on their heels because of the election? Nah. Just one look at P.J.'s DUmmie Funnies tells you no. C'mon. Where are they? Kitty wants to know now that she's out of her bath:

On tap for Legislature: Kill some taxes, change others? Proposals range from removing income tax to replacing it with flat tax By JEREMY REDMON The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 12/19/06 Georgia's tax code is ripe for change (snip) Among those ideas is a proposal to switch to a flat tax in which people are taxed at the same rate regardless of income level.(snip) The speaker also discussed eliminating property taxes and replacing them with an increase in sales tax on goods and services, on everything from groceries to cars. He also talked about eliminating the state income tax altogether and...

Feds to investigate DeKalb police shootings By MAE GENTRY Published on: 12/19/06 The U.S. Justice Department and the FBI are looking into 12 police-involved shooting deaths in DeKalb County, according to a letter from Assistant Attorney General Wan J. Kim. The letter, dated Dec. 12, was sent to John Evans, president of the DeKalb-based human rights group Operation LEAD, in response to a fax sent to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Evans provided a copy of the letter to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "The Department is currently gathering information, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, concerning the DeKalb...

My beloved aunt had a sudden heart attack and is in intensive care in a California hospital. She seems to be out of the woods but she is in her '70's and her family's history is not good with this. She has had a sister (my mother) and a brother-in-law both killed by hospital care. I want her to get out of that place as soon as possible. She is a gem and will put a good thumbprint on this earth in her remaining years.

This is a link to a wonderful slide show and music. I hope you enjoy it.

Google to Offer Annual Bonuses of Up to $3 Million (Update1) By Jonathan Thaw Oct. 5 (-- Google Inc., the most-used Internet search engine, will give cash bonuses of up to $3 million to executives that are linked to annual sales and profit goals. The bonuses will be available to all executives excluding Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt and Presidents Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google said today in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The cash bonuses come as Google's stock price stalls. Shares of the Mountain View, California-based company are little changed this year after...

HOW MANY SEC STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB? At VANDERBILT: it takes two, one to change the bulb and one more to explain how they did it every bit as good as the bulbs changed at Harvard. At GEORGIA : it takes two, one to change the bulb and one to phone an engineer at Georgia Tech for instructions. At FLORIDA : it takes four, one to screw in the bulb and three to figure out how to get stoned off the old one. At ALABAMA : it takes five, one to change it, two to...