Free Republic

Medical marijuana smokers in San Diego say the city has forced their pot shops to locate in remote areas and that means the drives to and from will increase air pollution — and ultimately, harm their lungs. The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients has filed a lawsuit, saying the city is violating the California Environmental Quality Act, United Press International reported. The suit names as defendants the Coastal Commission and the city of San Diego and claims the zoning laws put in place for marijuana dispensaries means patients have to actually get in their cars to drive to the remote...

After suffering through a striking number of rough grillings at the hands of Congress, State Department officials have approved a contract worth up to $545,000 to help train themselves for how to brief lawmakers and to testify at hearings. The contract with Orlando, Florida-based AMTIS, Inc. includes classes entitled “Communicating with Congress: Briefing and Testifying” and pays for one-on-one sessions to hold a mock hearing with questioners playing the role of lawmakers asking hard questions of the would-be witnesses. Leslie Paige, spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, said if officials were doing their jobs correctly, the money wouldn’t be needed....

Video at link. Old news, but a reminder of just how many politicians are unfit to serve office. Another reason why regular mandatory drug tests are in order for elected officials.

He Was Held On Contempt Charge Over Day Camp Dispute A judge has freed Spring Valley’s mayor, who had been jailed since Friday over a dispute involving a children’s day camp. Mayor Demeza Delhomme had been jailed on a contempt-of-court charge. As WCBS 880’s Sean Adams reported, Delhomme emerged from the Rockland County jail with stubble on his face and an open shirt collar Tuesday saying there had been a misunderstanding. “I have no grudges against anyone, no hard feelings,” Delhomme said. “The reason we’re all here, it’s all about the kids,” the mayor added. “We wanted a day care...

A Denver bar has been cited by the state's Division of Civil Rights for discrimination because it refused to let a gay man dressed in drag enter. The bar is the Denver Wrangler, and despite what its name might suggest, it is not some Country Western joint. It is, in fact, a gay bar. So the state has determined that a gay bar has discriminated against a gay person. What happened last summer is that a gay man named Vito Marzano, dressed in drag from a fundraiser elsewhere, wanted to enter the Wrangler. He was denied entry. The bar claims...

Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol are impressive people. After all, they obeyed God’s call to minister to the “least of these” as missionaries to Liberia. Dr. Brantly grew in stature when, after contracting the deadly Ebola virus, he decided to forfeit an experimental serum so that 60-year-old Writebol could have the first available dose. Then, that night while the second sub-zero serum thawed, Brantly suddenly took a turn for the worse and was quickly administered the initial dose he had originally turned down. This is a man willing to go last and as a result, as promised, ended up...

As you all know, I am Georgia-born and raised and very proud of that. I love my home state and it’s the place where my parents were laid to rest. However, there is one thing that causes me utmost embarrassment from my home state: former President Jimmy Carter. And his recent incoherent ranting about Hamas and Israel further proves that sentiment. Jimmy Carter is an anti-Semite. As reported by Fox News, “Former President Jimmy Carter once again is getting way out in front of the U.S. government on the Middle East, co-authoring an op-ed in which he calls for Washington...

Even as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) enjoy success after success in their operations to demilitarize the Gaza Strip and protect Israel’s security, the Jewish nation fights the war against radical Islamic terrorism on a second front–the liberal international media. Terrorist leaders not only wage war on Israeli civilians, but also encourage Palestinian civilians to put themselves in harm’s way in order that their deaths may serve as fodder for their propaganda machine. As a result, the IDF, the military that has done more than any other in world history to protect civilians on the other side of the conflict,...

PARIS: Israel’s right to security does not justify its actions in Gaza, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday, as he called for a political solution to be “imposed” by the international community. “How many more deaths will it take to stop what must be called the carnage in Gaza?” Fabius said in a statement. “The tradition of friendship between Israel and France is an old one and Israel’s right to security is total, but this right does not justify the killing of children and the slaughter of civilians.” The statement comes amid global outrage over an Israeli strike next...

The decades, if not centuries, old struggle between radical Islamic Arabs and Israeli Jews is once again raging out of control, this time in the Gaza strip. Terrorist group Hamas has been indiscriminately firing rockets into Israel with no end, and the Israeli Defense Force is trying to root out the Hamas fighters, without causing too much collateral damage. Unfortunately, innocent Palestinians are losing their lives, because Hamas is using them as human shields, hiding their rockets and weapons caches beneath schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, and mosques. Fox News’ Sean Hannity recently called out a guest on his show for...

The Palestinians want their own country. There’s just one thing about that: There are no Palestinians. It’s a made up word. Israel was called Palestine for two thousand years. Like ‘Wiccan,’ ‘Palestinian’ sounds ancient but is really a modern invention. Before the Israelis won the land in the 1967 war, Gaza was Owned by Egypt , the West Bank was owned by Jordan , and there were no ‘Palestinians.’ As soon as the Jews took over and started growing oranges as big as basketballs, what do you know, say hello to the ‘Palestinians,’ weeping for their deep bond with their...

...Israel-Hating, Hamas-Forgiving, Marcher, Celebrity, News Anchor, Journalist, Writer, Media Star, Politician, Head Of State I’m not sure the people who need to hear this will ever hear it, but I want my conscience to be clear that I said it to them. We have seen you marching along the streets of Europe, America, and the Middle East with your signs and kafias and Palestinian flags. We have heard you screaming to whoever will listen that Jews and Israelis are murderers, war criminals, and baby killers. You think you are telling us who we are. But actually, you are telling us...

Recently a video has gone viral of one man taking a stand against Sharia law and Islam. Many Americans believe this is long overdue, given the fact that the power of religion is used to control, oppress, and mistreat millions of people throughout the world. Unfortunately, in today’s society, it is a major risk to speak out against any religion. This forced silence is a major reason that people have been unwilling to challenge what many would agree is blatantly wrong. Now, one Navy Seal decided to speak out a political conference, claiming, “They are intent on killing the American...

That’s the way to do it. The mother of this 12 year old girl had her post her punishment online after finding out she had posted pictures online to a Facebook account that she shouldn’t have even had (pics of her holding an alcoholic beverage). Her daughter was grounded for the act, and then had to take to Facebook to deal with the consequences publicly…

After the Lambrecht Auction, we figured it was only a matter of time before more old dealerships like it would hit the market. What we didn’t realize was how soon they would come up for sale. It goes to show you, once one family sells and makes a killing doing it, every other old family dealership will start doing the same. We aren’t particularly excited to see another family turn over their entire estate to an auction house, but we are glad to know that this collection is going to be given a chance to go to new homes. Unlike...

It’s all about race. Everything, that is. Just when you think it’s ok for your child to enjoy an innocent, wholesome cartoon that has been thrilling little tikes for seven decades, you find out that it’s — what else? — RACIST! That is, according to the ridiculous screed of Tracy van Slyke, of The Guardian, which is so stupid it just must be a joke. Right? Wrong! She’s serious. Check out what she said about the evil Thomas the Tank Engine: For the record, all the “villains” on Thomas and Friends are the dirty diesel engines. I’d like to think...

Homophones, as any English grammarian can tell you, are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings — such as be and bee, through and threw, which and witch, their and there. This concept is taught early on to foreign students learning English because it can be confusing to someone whose native language does not have that feature. But when the social-media specialist for a private Provo-based English language learning center wrote a blog explaining homophones, he was let go for creating the perception that the school promoted a gay agenda. Tim Torkildson says after...

Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon and popular conservative writer and campaigner, has announced the formation of a political action committee to explore a possible 2016 presidential bid, The Washington Times reported. Carson told the Times on Friday that he had selected Houston businessman, Terry Giles, to be his 2016 campaign chairman if he decides to run and that he has signed off on the set up of a PAC called One Nation that would support his bid. "Now is the time to start all of the appropriate exploration and investigation, and put down the structure that is necessary," Carson said....

y say that difficult times bring out the best in people. That appears to be true among some of the Hollywood elite during this most recent period of bloody conflict between the Israel Defense Forces and the radical Islamic terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Celebrities like Joan Rivers and Howard Stern–neither known for their history of insightful political commentary–have recently weighed in on the Israeli side of the conflict, condemning the pro-Palestinian bias of the liberal international media. John Voight also spoke recently at a pro-Israel rally. Now comes news from ynetnews of a generous gift from reality...

Video at link