Free Republic

Larry Flynt’s last effort to buy dirt on Washington politicians was what you might call a bust. But the Hustler publisher launched a new effort Sunday, offering $1 million for provable Potomac sleaze. Readers of the print edition of Sunday’s Washington Post, will have seen the all-type, full-page ad as they turned from “Russia’s Champion of Hopeless Causes Is Targeted for Disbarment” to “U.S. Warship Fires Missiles at Fighters in Somalia.” “Larry Flynt and Hustler Magazine announce a cash offer up to $1 Million,” the headline on page A17 says. The ad explains: “Have you had a sexual encounter with...

I realize that the infamous pornographer Larry Flynt and Rev. Jerry Falwell were friendly adversaries. And I know they shared podiums while debating on college campuses. But that doesn't qualify the smut king to appear on national TV to comment on the life of the Christian leader who fought against immorality and most everything else Flynt represents. I agree with Dr. Judith Reisman, a former consultant to both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Ventura County (California) prosecuting attorney. It's appalling that CNN chose Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine, to appear on Larry King Live to discuss the passing...

FLINT, United States (AFP) - As yet another auto plant prepares to shut is doors, the mayor of Flint, Michigan has come up with a radical - and possibly illegal - plan: a city-run assembly plant. The aim is to bring much-needed jobs to a town that has sunken even further into despair in the 15 years since film maker Michael Moore documented the first round of plant closures by General Motors in his award-winning "Roger and Me". Boarded-up houses and businesses darken the city's streets. Abandoned lots are choked with weeds and trash. Schools are crumbling. The bright lights...

MARYSVILLE-- For more than a month, workers at a small auto supply plant outside Port Huron have fought bitterly to keep the United Auto Workers from organizing their shop. The blue-collar denizens at Schefenacker Vision Systems USA occasionally picket outside the factory -- carrying homemade signs with slogans like "UAW Kills Jobs" and "Proud to be union free." Union resistance efforts are nothing out of the ordinary in Georgetown, Ky., Canton, Miss., or any other Southern town where foreign-owned auto plants are popping up. But such passionate opposition from Michigan factory workers, many of whom grew up in hard-core UAW...

11/27/05 First Samples of Prehistoric Flint Stones Discovered in Iran The first samples of flint stones in Iran belonging to 9000 years ago have been identified in Yeri City historical site. Tehran, 27 November 2005 (CHN) -- The third season of archaeological excavations in the historical site of Yeri City in Ardabil province resulted in the discovery of 9000-year-old flint stones. It is the first time that traces of flint stones from pre-historic periods of Iran have been discovered. During the Neolithic epoch, due to the increase of temperature, environmental circumstances provided human beings with greater food resources. Within this...

Which well-known figure associated with Flint has outsourced jobs to other countries and used union-busting tactics?...None other than Michael Moore, "the champion of the working class"...

America’s Most Liberal Cities Rank-City,State 01-Detroit,Michigan 02-Gary,Indiana 03-Berkeley,California 04-District of Columbia 05-Oakland,California 06-Inglewood,California 07-Newark,New Jersey 08-Cambridge,Massachusetts 09-San Francisco,California 10-Flint,Michigan 11-Cleveland,Ohio 12-Hartford,Connecticut 13-Paterson,New Jersey 14-Baltimore,Maryland 15-New Haven,Connecticut 16-Seattle,Washington 17-Chicago,Illinois 18-Philadelphia,Pennsylvania 19-Birmingham,Alabama 20-St. Louis,Missouri 21-New York,New York 22-Providence,Rhode Island 23-Minneapolis,Minnesota 24-Boston,Massachusetts 25-Buffalo,New York 26-New Orleans,Louisiana 27-Ann Arbor,Michigan 28-Jersey City,New Jersey 29-Portland,Oregon 30-Daly City,California 31-Atlanta,Georgia 32-Dallas,Texas 33-Hayward,California 34-Madison,Wisconsin 35-Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania 36-St. Paul,Minnesota 37-Los Angeles,California 38-Rochester,New York 39-Memphis,Tennessee 40-Milwaukee,Wisconsin 41-Vallejo,California 42-Dayton,Ohio 43-Bridgeport,Connecticut 44-Springfield,Massachusetts 45-Syracuse,New York

Killers turn to assault rifles 7.62 mm weapons used in recent slayings FLINT THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION Tuesday, June 28, 2005 By Ken Palmer, Bryn Mickle and James L. Smith FLINT - Assault rifles favored by Iraqi insurgents are finding their way onto Flint streets in alarming numbers. A spate of shootings using such 7.62 mm assault rifles as AK-47s has police worried about high-powered weapons better suited for war zones. Why so much worry? A 7.62mm round can cut straight through a bullet-resistant vest. "That powerful of a weapon is a concern for the safety of officers and...

A former local UAW activist, known for his sometimes-maverick views and hard-line stance against General Motors, is among a handful of Michigan residents joining a drive to oppose the AFL-CIO's support of gay rights. Michael Westfall, a retired truck driver and member of UAW Local 598, is one of three state residents who have signed a national petition organized by the socially conservative American Family Association. It urges the union to rescind its opposition to a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. "I really feel the leadership of the union, the top leadership, has...

Genesee investigating near-escape of inmate dressed as officer 5/14/2005, 7:54 p.m. ET The Associated Press FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Officials are investigating how an inmate on suicide watch slipped into a sheriff's uniform and nearly escaped from the county jail. Thomas J. Fisher, 36, of Flint, made it as far as the kitchen in the jail's basement May 8 before a cook spotted him wearing jail-issue flip-flops, Genesee County Undersheriff James S. Gage told The Flint Journal for a story Friday. "These guys are constantly trying to figure out ways to get out of here," Gage said. "Since the last...

FLINT, Mich. (AP) -- Mayor Don Williamson is taking a novel tack in fighting lawsuits - he's withholding city business from anyone who has sued Flint within the past five years. Williamson said the Jan. 21 policy is in the taxpayers' best interests. In recent years, the city faced a multimillion-dollar deficit that prompted the state to declare a financial emergency. "Who in the world would want to do business if you're sued by 'em?" Williamson said. But Greg Gibbs, chairman of the Greater Flint branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he would go to federal court to...

Delphi Corp. has the hatchet out again.The world's largest automotive supplier, which even now is razing a former Flint plant that last employed 400 hourly workers, announced today it is cutting 8,500 jobsAbout 3,000 of those will be in the United States, the company said.Delphi says the moves are necessary because of ongoing global price pressures, cutbacks in General Motors production schedules and lingering issues with its high-wage UAW-represented work force in the United States.In addition, Delphi is tossing three more troubled sites into its internal Automotive Holdings Group. And it might put more in the group, the company said.That's...

Why can't Johnny get a 2.0? Below C level FLINT THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION Sunday, November 07, 2004 By Matt Bach FLINT - Last year, six out of 10 Flint ninth-graders couldn't manage a C average, falling below a 2.0 grade point. It's a surprisingly bleak statistic and a problem that runs deep, touching everything from the many students who drop out after the ninth grade to the number who can play sports (Flint requires a 2.0 GPA or a waiver to play). Then there are the individuals who suffer: A seemingly bright student who has failed the ninth-grade...

FLINT - Former Vice President Al Gore will encourage Democrats to continue working through Election Day in an "Every Vote Counts" rally Sunday. It will be a return to familiar territory for Gore, who visited Genesee County three times in three months leading up to the 2000 election he lost to George Bush. He ended up beating Bush by 62-34 percent in Genesee County. This time, Gore is campaigning on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, who has come to Genesee County once this year, in February, before the Michigan Democratic caucus. The public is invited to the...

NRA makes bang for Bush MUNDY TWP. THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION Thursday, October 14, 2004 Joe Lawlor MUNDY TWP. -- In the home county of liberal, anti-gun filmmaker Michael Moore, the National Rifle Association endorsed President Bush for re-election, promising him millions of dollars in ads, phone banks and other efforts. NRA leaders chose the Flint area for one of several news conferences in the Midwest to announce their endorsement Wednesday of Bush, citing Michigan as a battleground state with many gun owners and hunters. Wayne LaPierre, the group's powerful executive vice president, said Bush is a true supporter...

Edwards responds to Cheney's criticism of Kerry By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN The Associated Press 8/13/2004, 4:14 p.m. ET FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A day after Vice President Dick Cheney criticized John Kerry, Democratic Sen. John Edwards defended his running mate on Friday, saying he "spilled his blood for the United States" and accusing the Republican of distorting Kerry's words. Cheney told voters in Ohio Thursday that Kerry had called for a "more sensitive" war on terror and mocked that notion as something that won't impress the Sept. 11 terrorists or the Islamic militants who have beheaded U.S. citizens. Edwards, returning...

Michael Moore has won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and may win an Oscar for the kind of work that got Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and Jack Kelley fired. Trying to track the unproven innuendoes and conspiracies in a Michael Moore film or book is as futile as trying to count the flatulence jokes in one by Adam Sandler. Some journalists and critics have acted as if his wrenching of facts is no more serious than a movie continuity problem, like showing a 1963 Chevy in 1956 Santa Monica. A documentary film doesn't have to be fair...

Bush, Kerry focus on values in scramble for voters By RON FOURNIER The Associated Press 7/13/2004, 5:42 p.m. ET SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — President Bush and John Kerry are trying to define and dominate the debate on gay marriage, abortion, gun rights and other values in a more virtuous-than-thou scramble for voters like blue-collar Democrat Carolyn Brooks. The 61-year-old clerk opposes abortion, even to save a woman's life, and gay marriage, even if it requires amending the Constitution. But there's a value she places above all others: Honesty. "And Bush, with his war on Iraq, has failed on that note,"...

Fourth-grader roughs up Flint teacher Assault was 2nd at Bryant on same day; students suspended THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION Thursday, April 22, 2004 By Matt Bach Flint Bryant Elementary teacher Davina Whitaker was assaulted by one of her fourth-grade students Wednesday. Whitaker, whom The Flint Journal has been following in a yearlong series on the high number of Flint students who move in and out of district classrooms each year, did not seek medical attention but was upset and had to be taken home by a family member, said Larry Watkins, director of school safety for the district. The...

Flint -- School officials are taking action over allegations that lesbian students at Central High School and other buildings are harassing other girls. There appear to be more complaints and rumors this year regarding lesbians fighting and sexually harassing students, said Larry Watkins, director of the office of school safety. The school doesn't track incidents by sexual orientation, so Watkins said he doesn't know for sure if the problems are increasing. But suspensions for fighting and sexual harassment have included at least one fight between two girls arguing about a relationship, he said. In response to concerns, the district reviewed...