Free Republic

Federal agencies in the Washington, DC, area are CLOSED.

Well, as it turns out, Washington DC residents know exactly how much of a joke 911 is in their own town, after a cop. Pulled a gun. On kids. Throwing snowballs. Yeah, and they're reading this cop the riot act.

Yesterday a friend and I were discussing the fact that President Obama allowed the public funding of abortions in Washington DC, and what our response should be. My friend suggested that instead of an all out refusal to pay taxes, and instead of individuals doing this on their own - which the IRS would salivate over - he suggested a massive tax protest held over a certain period of time. If the signers of the Manhattan Declaration are serious about refusing to pay taxes over the public funding of abortion via health care legislation, let me say there is no...

D.C. mayor signs same-sex ‘marriage’ legislation Unitarian Universalist pastor Rob Hardies poses for a picture with Mayor Adrian Fenty. Credit: All Souls Church. Washington D.C., Dec 19, 2009 / 06:57 am (CNA).- Mayor Adrian Fenty of Washington, D.C., has signed a measure recognizing same-sex “marriage” in the District. The law has been criticized for redefining marriage and also for its lack of strong religious freedom protections for those who do not approve of such unions.Fenty signed the measure at the Unitarian Universalist All Souls Church in the northwest part of the District.In his remarks at the signing, provided to CNA...

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will sign legislation Friday to legalize same-sex marriage in the District at a bill-signing ceremony so historic that his staff scrambled to find the perfect location Thursday. Would it be All Souls Unitarian Church, a Northwest house of worship known for its diversity, liberalism and welcoming of same-sex couples? Would it be Covenant Baptist Church, a predominantly black church in Southwest where husband-and-wife team of Dennis and Christine Wiley serve as co-pastors and support gay marriage? Or would it be a secular site? Late in the day, Katie Loughary, executive director at All Souls, said it...

With Congress phasing out the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, D.C. parents and students are looking to President Obama/administration to step in and save the federal initiative, which has given hope for a brighter future to thousands of families. However, Mr. Obama has been silent on the issue.... Asked ...why he didn't support the Opportunity Scholarship Program -- given that the Department of Education's own evaluation found it was benefiting participating students. Duncan explained that he was focusing on reforms to turn around the entire public school system, not just save a few children: "As a country, we like to save...

Citizens rally against the Government takeover of healhcare. Bureaucrash is on the scene to document the event. Code Red Healthcare Rally (December 15, 2009) Laura Ingraham, Michelle Bachmann speak Dick Armey at Red Alert Healthcare Rally

The D.C. Council on Tuesday passed a same-sex marriage bill on a final vote of 11-2, prompting public witnesses in the Council chambers to erupt into cheers and extended applause. D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray allowed the applause for several seconds, then banged his gavel as the noise subsided and reminded the crowd that demonstrations are not allowed in the chambers. He chuckled as the crowd laughed in response. The bill, which could be signed by the mayor as early as tonight, must go to Congress for a review period of 30 legislative days before it becomes law. "Today...

The Washington City Council voted Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation's capital. The bill will be given to Mayor Adrian Fenty, who has expressed his support and vowed to sign the bill. If the mayor signs it, Congress will have 30 days to intervene before it would take effect. It is considered unlikely that the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill will block the bill Tuesday's second vote was needed to send the measure to Fenty. The council passed the bill in an 11-2 vote December 1. If the measure becomes law, Washington will join Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and...

WASHINGTON — Washington D.C.'s City Council has voted to legalize gay marriage in the nation's capital. Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to sign the bill, which was co-sponsored by 10 of the council's 13 members. The final vote Tuesday was 11-2. The bill now goes to Congress, which has final say over the district's laws. Opponents say they'll try to get Congress or voters to overturn it. Passage of the bill is a victory for gay marriage supporters, who have been dealt a recent string of defeats... Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont. New Hampshire will...

In the predawn hours this morning, over 30 people loaded a chartered bus in a parking lot across from Ross Park Mall were seeing red and it had nothing to do with getting up before 3:00 a.m. "We want to let Washington know that we are not going to let them pass legislation without them knowing how we feel," said Pam Smith of Evans City. Smith was part of a group of grassroots activists and concerned citizens heading down to Washington, D.C., this morning to issue a "code red" alert to stop the health care overhaul legislation from advancing in...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/December/09-nsd-1338.html FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, December 14, 2009 Terrorism Defendants Sentenced in Atlanta Ehsanul Islam Sadequee Receives 17 Years in Prison; Co-defendant Syed Haris Ahmed Receives 13 Years Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 23, of Roswell, Ga., and Syed Haris Ahmed, 25, of Atlanta, were sentenced today in federal court following their convictions earlier this year in separate but related criminal trials, the Justice Department announced. "With their words and their actions, these defendants supported the wrongheaded but very dangerous idea that armed violence aimed at American interests will force our Government and our people...

Congress opens door to medical marijuana in D.C. By: Gabriel Beltrone December 13, 2009 05:36 PM EST The Senate passed legislation Sunday that opens the door to the District of Columbia legalizing medical marijuana after over a decade of Congress blocking the issue through budget restrictions. Nestled in the $447 billion omnibus spending bill approved Sunday by a vote of 57-35 is language that frees up Washington D.C. to use local money to implement a medical marijuana measure approved in a referendum by nearly 70 percent of voters in 1998, resurrecting an effort that has been stalled since Congress imposed...

Hundreds of protesters have gathered near the White House to try and start a new anti-war movement. Saturday's demonstration closely follows President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech, in which he said war is sometimes needed to establish lasting peace. Demonstrators in Washington opposed this view, as well as the president's request for 30,000 more U.S. troops in Afghanistan. "Make it personal, make it personal, because killing is personal. It's immoral. It's personal," chanted protesters. Former Democratic Alaska Senator and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Gravel led protesters in anti-war chants, while calling for a mass movement to help end U.S. wars...

Senate Vote This Weekend on Funding Abortions in District of Columbia Washington, DC -- The Senate is expected to vote this weekend on an omnibus spending bill that includes a provision overturning a ban on taxpayer funding of abortions in the District of Columbia. The House already voted for the bill, which could increase abortions in Washington by as much as 1,000 a year. Please read the below story and take action NOW! Contact your senators today and tell them no funding abortions in out nation's capital! http://www.lifenews.com/nat5764.html

<p>Laura Ingraham supports this Rally so hope that is good enough for everyone. The Tea Parties are also on board.</p>

House Approves Bill That Funds Abortions in Nation's Capital Washington, DC -- The House of Representatives on Thursday approved an omnibus spending bill that would overturn a decades-long policy preventing taxpayer funding of abortions in the nation's capital. One pro-life group suggests overturning the policy could increase abortions by as much as 1,000 a year. The Senate will vote on this bill as soon as this weekend! Full story and action alert at: http://www.lifenews.com/nat5762.html

Breaking News: Pakistan Reportedly Detains Five D.C.-Area Muslims on Suspicion of Terror IPT News December 8, 2009 **Updated December 9, 9:00 a.m. EST A Pakistani newspaper reports the arrest of five foreign nationals after a raid in a town called Sargodha. The raid took place at the home of a member of the Jaish-e-Muhammad, a Pakistani movement designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2001. According to the report, "The DPO told that these people had been living in Sargodha since Nov 30 and it was quite a possibility that they were engaged in acts of...

The Weekly Standard has an excellent new article in its latest issue that reports on the discouraging story of the Washington D.C. teachers union that is rushing headlong toward destroying the successful and popular federally-funded D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). The program has helped many disadvantaged D.C. are kids get a better and safer education than they would have gotten in the violence plagued public schools system. But Democratic lawmakers in Congress have continually announced their lack of support for the voucher plan despite the inner city kids that have benefited from it all... Read the rest at Publiusforum.com...

You can buy a car from an out-of-state dealer and pick it up there. You can buy a house in another part of the country, as speculators unwisely did during the real estate bubble, sight unseen. But even though the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own firearms -- and presumably to buy them -- you can't purchase a handgun while you're visiting another state. A gun rights group has sued the Justice Department to overturn this prohibition, which became law as part of the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the case is now in front of U.S....

Senator Ralph K. Smith (R - Roanoke) Virginia State Senator Ralph K. Smith (R - Roanoke) has pre-filed Senate Bill 3 ahead of the 2010 Virginia General Assembly session. SB 3 would require Clerks of Virginia's Circuit Courts to accept renewal applications for concealed handgun permits by mail and to mail the permit to the applicant once it approved by the court. Senator Smith's mail order gun permit proposal is likely the first of an avalanche of mainly pro but also some anti-gun rights bills to be considered by the 2010 Virginia General Assembly. Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip...

Jonathan Slevin, acting publisher and president of the Washington Times, outlined a new plan for the beleaguered newspaper and spoke of "significant staff reductions" at a meeting this afternoon. Staff are receiving notices at the meeting, but it's unclear who will be laid off at this time. However, management is putting the number at around 40 percent, according to sources. A release went out after the meeting began that outlines some of the changes taking place in the first quarter of 2010. The news operation, according to the release, will focus on what it considers core strengths—“exclusive reporting and in-depth...

Recently Jim Robinson posted two threads declaring Free Republic’s determination to see Conservatives elected and ousting Rino's from government. Jim and a great many Freepers believe that we need to take back control. But the RNC is not hearing us. Activism is called for NOW. 2010 is nearing and we need Conservative candidates to run. The time is ripe and people are ready for another 1994 type election. But we need to make the RNC hear us loud and clear. This is the Rino Free America Project. Get involved. Make them listen. Write a letter and MAIL it. Republican...

A tussle over same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia reveals how high the stakes of the debate have risen. Proponents of redefining marriage frequently assert that this would be only a minor adjustment, expanding the institution slightly to accommodate the two to three percent of the population that self-identifies as lesbian or gay. The appeal is for "tolerance" to allow people to form sexual relationships as they please. But now it becomes clear that same-sex advocates want much more than tolerance. D.C. council member David Catania filed a same-sex marriage bill in October. With support from the mayor and...

The DMV now has yet another pro-gun source of information and cyberspace assembly area for gun owners. The Virginia Gun Owners Forum (VGOF) started up in March 2009 and its owner Rick Sandlin says the site already has "over 700 members strong with more than 21,000 forum posts . . . [and] provides a place for people within the Commonwealth of Virginia to conduct local firearm purchases, trades and sales."

At a time when our country is sick, it shouldn't surprise that one our sickest places is our nation's capital. The poverty rate of Washington, DC, almost 20 percent, is one of the highest in the nation. Its child poverty rate is the nation's highest. DC's public school system, with a graduation rate of less than 50 percent, is one of the worst in the country. According to DC's HIV/AIDS office, three percent of the local population has HIV or AIDS. The administrator of this office notes that this HIV/AIDS incidence is "...higher than West Africa...on par with Uganda and...

When the House of Representatives passed a health-care reform bill this month that included a watertight prohibition on federal funding for elective abortions, outraged American feminists wondered just how one of their own – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – could have countenanced such a concession. (snip) U.S. church leaders do not hesitate to call politicians out on their beliefs with a vehemence that might be considered abusive, if not irrelevant to their functions, in Canada. It happened again on the weekend when the bishop of Providence confirmed that he had instructed Mr. Kennedy's nephew, Rhode Island congressman Patrick Kennedy, to...

RICHMOND | The governors of Virginia and Maryland, both Catholics, said Tuesday that it would be wrong for the church to suspend or reduce social services in the nation's capital if the District approves gay marriage. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley criticized the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington's response to the District's gay marriage proposal during a joint appearance on Washington radio station WTOP. The D.C. Council is expected to approve gay marriage next month. The archdiocese says that unless the proposal is amended to add a religious exemption, its Catholic Charities won't be able to continue...

SNIPPET: "As-Sabiqun, a Washington, DC-based extremist group, plans to divert the focus of the festivities away from the themes of generosity and sacrifice by distributing a leaflet at morning prayers that portrays Major Nidal Hasan (who opened fire on soldiers at Ft. Hood, killing 13 and wounding 30 others) as a victim of the "Zionist American" government that is employing a program of "psychological warfare" to "oppress Muslims." This is a clear example of what the Center for Terrorism Research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies has termed "Cause Célèbre Islam." Cause célèbre Islam forecasts an inevitable violent...

The war of gay rights and marriage is the hottest button issue since the protests of Vietnam. The lines have been drawn between those seeking and promoting equal rights and the those faithful to the church and its teachings. This fight has caused the fight between religious liberty and the law. As well as, caused the threat of the stopping of charitable services. Over the last month, the Diocese in our nation's capital, has come to odds with the proposed law of same sex marriage.

At a time when our country is sick, it shouldn't surprise that one our sickest places is our nation's capital. The poverty rate of Washington, DC, almost 20 percent, is one of the highest in the nation. Its child poverty rate is the nation's highest.. DC's public school system, with a graduation rate of less than 50 percent, is one of the worst in the country. According to DC's HIV/AIDS office, three percent of the local population has HIV or AIDS. The Administrator of this office notes that this HIV/AIDS incidence is "...higher than West Africa...on par with Uganda and...

Michigan - -(AmmoLand.com)- Things are going well with the Second Amendment March. We now have 29 State Coordinators and website traffic is holding steady at 45,000 unique visitors per week. Donations were up slightly last month but still painfully short of what we’ll need to pull this event off. I hate to beg, but even five dollars per person would be a great help in organizing efforts. Dennis Sanford, our Field Representative, will be sending out the official letters to the gun industry next week asking for monetary and logistical support. We’re hoping that during these times of record firearm...

Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl Washington D.C., Nov 18, 2009 / 06:32 pm (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Washington’s announcement that services would have to be cut if the District of Columbia City Council recognizes same-sex “marriage” without religious exemptions was not a “threat” or “ultimatum” but a simple recognition of the policy’s consequences, the Archbishop of Washington said in an opinion essay in the Washington Post.Without strong religious freedom protections, the proposed legislation would force the Church to choose between expressing Christ’s love in service to others and defending the nature of marriage, Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl wrote in his...

The two-member elections board said it could not accept the Marriage Initiative of 2009, filed by the Stand4MarriageDC coalition, because it "authorizes discrimination prohibited under the District of Columbia Human Rights Act." "This undemocratic decision is outrageous and a slap in the face of every resident of the District of Columbia," Mr. Jackson said. "To deny the people their fundamental right to vote on such an important issue as the definition of marriage in our society is simply appalling."

Two weeks ago, just after the Maine’s successful reversal of the state legislature’s decision to sanction same-sex marriage, MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer asked me a profound question: “Would Jesus have spent $550,000 to oppose same-sex marriage?” The question was exactly what many secular parties had been asking in Portland, Maine, where she was speaking to me by satellite. My answer was that Jesus would have given the money to oppose same-sex marriage. My reasoning was simple: Jesus would have upheld his own teaching; refusing to be a loving, permanent enabler of a misguided local government. I mentioned in the interview that...

Application of Second Amendment to be decided by Supreme Court Journal Photo by Lauren Carroll Lawyer Alan Gura says that owning semi-automatic guns is constitutional. The man who successfully challenged a prohibition against handguns in the District of Columbia before the Supreme Court said last night during a local debate about the Second Amendment that some states have gone too far. That's what happened in the District of Columbia, which required that firearms either be equipped with trigger locks or kept disassembled, said Alan Gura, a lawyer from Alexandria, Va., who argued the Supreme Court case. "If you have a...

The largest publisher of newspapers serving the gay and lesbian community in the US has shut down. Laura Douglas-Brown, editor of Southern Voice newspaper in Atlanta, said she arrived at work today to find the locks changed and a note saying parent company Window Media LLC had closed down.UKGuardian"Window Media long provided a very special outlet for the gay community to learn about itself way before there were a lot of other places to find that type of thing," said Michael Musto, an openly gay writer for the Village Voice in New York, which is owned by Village Voice Media...

The D.C. Council is considering a law forbidding discrimination against those in gay marriages. The law would apply to all groups that have contracts with the District, including Catholic Charities, one of the city's largest social services providers. The Archdiocese of Washington says that because of the Church's opposition to same-sex marriage, it would have to suspend its social services to the poor, the homeless and others rather than provide employee benefits to same-sex married couples or allow them to adopt.

The Archdiocese of Washington said Thursday that it will not extend benefits to same-sex married couples employed in Catholic schools -- a pre-emptive defiance of a bill expected to coast through the D.C. Council by the end of the year. "If this law is passed, we will have to break the law before we give up our religion," said archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs. A bill pending in the D.C. Council would allow same-sex marriages to be performed in the District. Currently, the District recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The church operates 21 schools in the District, attended by...

The D.C. City Council took one step closer to allowing same sex "marriages" in the District of Columbia on Tuesday when they voted the legislation out of the Committee on Public Safety & Judiciary. The panel refused to include protections for religious organizations--putting at risk the numerous churches in the region that provide goods and services to the needy who would have to decide between their faith or compliance with the city's commands. One of the largest area provider of relief services, the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, took a stand yesterday, just as their counterparts in Massachusetts's had done in...

Federal program checks fingerprints of local crime suspects D.C. police will be the next department to take part in a federal program whose ultimate aim is to check the immigration status of every person booked into a local jail, homeland security officials announced Thursday. The program, known as Secure Communities, matches inmates' fingerprints against a federal database so that federal authorities can identify and possibly remove deportable illegal immigrants before they are released from custody. Similar checks are done at all 1,200 federal and state prisons. But authorities have lacked the ability to do them across the nation's 3,100 local...

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care. Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians. Fearful that they could be forced, among...

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington says it won't continue social service programs it runs for the District if the proposed same-sex marriage law isn't changed. The bill states religious organizations wouldn't have to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings, but they must obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians. Opponents say the religious liberty exemption is too narrow. The archdiocese says religious organizations and individuals would be "at risk for adhering to the teachings of their faith." The archdiocese says that among other changes, it would have to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples,...

WASHINGTON - D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's use of government resources to facilitate his recreational activities isn't limited to a police escort while he trains with his bike team. The mayor has used a federal Homeland Security vehicle to transport himself and his bike to at least 14 races in the past two years. The District's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency has two large SUVs, which are detailed to the city from the U.S. Government Services Administration. According to records obtained by WTOP through the Freedom of Information Act, the mayor's Executive Protection Unit has signed out one or both...

RICHMOND, Va. - John Allen Muhammad was executed Tuesday night for the sniper attacks in 2002 that left 10 dead and spread such fear people were afraid to go shopping, cut grass or pump gas. The three-week killing spree in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., was carried out with a teenage accomplice who is serving life in prison without parole. Muhammad, 48, died by injection at 9:11 p.m. EST after he exhausted his court appeals and Gov. Tim Kaine denied clemency. Muhammad's attorneys earlier had asked Kaine to commute his sentence to life in prison because they said he was...

Virginia --(AmmoLand.com)-We all have various milestones in our lives. I have had a number of them since May 2001 when I came to this country on the employment visa. November 18, 2009 will be another milestone in my life – I am required to take a two hour civics test and English language knowledge test as part of my naturalization process. I got a notice from USCIS in August 2009 that I am now eligible to apply for a U.S. citizenship. I jumped for joy, to say the least. The next thing I did was to ask my lawyer which...

With the help of Steve McGough's mother, Carol, who was in D.C. today to give a report to Jim Vicevich. Taped report on the blog. We’ll try to get some pictures posted in the next two days, but for now you can find images over at Gateway Pundit. I’ve also got the audio posted below from Carol’s (mom’s) live report from the capital steps this morning minutes before the health care rally got started. If you’ve got links to more information and photos, post them in the comments section to share with everyone.

Only video I could find, CSPAN 3 and Foxnews.com carried it, but the Foxnews.com live stream had no volume.... Mark Levin Speech At Health Care Tea Party Washington D.C. "You see that building, you own that building...they are taking a wrecking ball to this magnificent society and that's just the first 9 months" Fox News article As a crowd of protesters shouted "kill the bill," House Republicans on Thursday rallied opposition against the Democrats' health care legislation, decrying the bill on the steps of Congress in a last-ditch bid to derail or at least delay the legislation heading toward a...

RICHMOND, Va. — Attorneys for John Allen Muhammad released a May 2008 letter on Wednesday in which the mastermind of the deadly 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C., area proclaims his innocence. The rambling, handwritten letter was made available because of requests for a statement from Muhammad, his attorneys wrote on the Web page of their law firm. The letter was filed in federal court in connection with Muhammad's unsuccessful attempt to block his execution, the attorneys said.

Holmes Norton: Republicans to blame for high D.C. AIDS rate By Silla Brush - 11/04/09 06:00 PM ET Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) is blaming Republican lawmakers for the District of Columbia’s high HIV/AIDS rate. In a letter posted on her website, Norton lashed out at Republican efforts in recent years to attach riders to annual congressional spending bills that limited the District from using locally raised revenues to support needle exchange programs. She said this explains “in large part” why the District has a higher HIV/AIDS rate than do similar cities. “The District has a higher HIV/AIDS rate than...