Free Republic

A Humbling Lesson: Congressman Davy Crockett Learns About Limited Government   In the following, excerpted from the book The Life of Colonel David Crockett (1884) compiled by Edward S. Ellis, the famous American frontiersman, war hero, and congressman from Tennessee relates how he learned -- from one of his own backwoods constituents -- the vital importance of heeding the Constitution and the dangers of disregarding its restraints. Crockett was then the lion of Washington. I was a great admirer of his character, and, having several friends who were intimate with him, I found no difficulty in making his acquaintance. I was...

Your bank is about to make some pretty radical changes to your checking account -- changes that could cost you money in bounced-check fees and limit your ability to fight fraud or errors. These alterations are so significant, in fact, that it may be time to abandon paper checks, if you haven’t already.

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) - Costco workers checked the merchandise at its food court and found nothing out of the ordinary after a woman claimed she bit into a bullet while eating a hot dog, the company's chief executive officer said Wednesday. Police interviewed workers and opened all of the approximately 25 remaining hot dog packages after Olivia Chanes, 31, reported the incident, CEO Jim Sinegal said. "We checked everything thoroughly," Sinegal said by phone from Costco's corporate office near Seattle. "Obviously, it's regrettable. ... The question is when could something like this happen."

A man and his donkey have been arrested in Cyprus after they tried to poke fun at passport checks by crossing the island's divide equipped only with a "donkey passport". Greek Cypriot pensioner Savvas Christodoulou and his donkey, Shelidona, were part of a protest which activists hoped would highlight opposition to passport checks at the recently opened border, which has divided the island since 1974. Turkish Cypriot police encouraged them to cross the Nicosia checkpoint into Turkish-controlled territory but moments later plainclothes officers bundled Mr Christodoulou into a car. His donkey, the heavily pregnant Shelidona, was led off to the...

Greasing Gray with Fat Checks California's Richest Look to Protect Selves as Recall Takes Off (July 10, 2003) ~ By Jill Stewart As the Gray Davis recall moves into overdrive and the noxious consultant Chris Lehane--who helped Clinton formulate his creepy Monica Lewinsky strategy--prepares to launch an assault on the truth unlike anything we've witnessed in a California election, a phrase keeps circling inside my head. Follow the money. Most political junkies know by now that Lehane and the rest of Davis' advisors plan to paint the recall as right-wingers stealing an election from liberals. Lehane is said by some...

WASHINGTON, June 24 — More than 100 federal air marshals have been fired or stripped of their flight status in recent weeks for problems stemming from their security clearance background investigations, MSNBC.com has learned. In addition, some air marshals are flying without having received their final security clearances, Transportation Security Administration sources told MSNBC.com. The revelations fuel critics’ charges that a key element of post-9/11 airline security is being poorly managed. THE TRANSPORTATION Security Administration, the agency that oversees federal air marshals, admits that some marshals have been fired while others have been stripped of their flight status and placed...

Judge dismisses charges against man who wrote obscene check -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fri, Jan 24, 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The contempt of court charge against a Howell man who wrote obscenities on a check he used to pay a traffic fine was dismissed Thursday. Reason for the dismissal: "limited resources." John Pikkarainen, chief judge of the 53rd District Court in Howell, dismissed the case a day before an evidentiary hearing. He wouldn't comment on the case, but did write an opinion on the order. Pikkarainen wrote that he believes the act was indirectly contemptuous and warranted appointing a special prosecutor to the case. But...

<p>Connecting the dots is usually child's play. But privacy advocates say that a government plan to apply sophisticated computer algorithms and "fuzzy logic" to unconnected databases to sniff out terrorists violates the privacy of American travelers.</p> <p>Transportation Department officials counter that it's just another way they're using technology to rout terrorism.</p>

Man charged with contempt for obscene message on check Writing what was really on his mind could end up buying a Howell man more trouble than he bargained for after he wrote obscene comments on a check used to pay a traffic ticket. Eric Wilmoth, 26, has been charged with contempt of court by 53rd District Court Judge John Pikkarainen after Wilmoth wrote "Bulls- - - F- - - - - - ticket. Suck on it" on the memo line of a check he mailed to the court to pay a traffic fine. Wilmoth will appear before Pikkarainen in Howell...

House Panel OKs Tougher Gun Checks WASHINGTON (AP) - Peter Troy's history of mental illness made it illegal for him to own the gun that police say he used to spray bullets at a Long Island church, killing the priest and a worshipper. But the database used by the FBI for background checks is so incomplete that Troy was approved to buy a rifle even though he been committed to a mental institution at least twice. The FBI's system is supposed to identify felons, drug addicts, domestic abusers, illegal immigrants, people who were involuntarily committed to a mental institution and...

Ridge Says Man with Fake Checks 'Disconcerting' Sun Jul 21, 2:13 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Allegations that a Jordanian-born man brought $12 million in fake cashier's check into the United States are "disconcerting" and authorities are trying to determine the man's potential links to al Qaeda, U.S. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said on Sunday. Reuters Photo Ridge refused to provide any details of the investigation into Omar Shishani, detained last week when he arrived at Detroit's Metropolitan Airport from Indonesia. "It's disconcerting and somewhat alarming that somebody is walking in with $12 million of currency, whether legit or...

<p>The first fallout from the state's budget impasse could land on 1.4 million Californians who rely on welfare checks to survive, including thousands of foster children.</p> <p>A top official in Gov. Gray Davis' administration warned Thursday that if no spending plan is in place by Monday, the state will withhold funds from some of the Bay Area's neediest families, and Santa Clara and other counties will have to struggle to pick up the costs.</p>

ST. LOUIS -- The budget deficit is huge. Tax collection has been unexpectedly skimpy. And the treasury is all but tapped out. So the state of Missouri has stopped sending out income tax refunds. And there are no plans to put the checks in the mail any time soon. Here is the balance of the article