Free Republic

Does Mediaite have an editor screening its content before it goes up online?  In a 24-hour period, that lefty news site published one story defending Vice President Joe Biden’s charge that Republicans want rape to increase if they don’t align with the President’s “jobs” plan, and another article claiming that Biden, in fact, never did use a rape reference.  First we have some dude named Nando Di Fino, whom I’ve never heard of before.  He argued that Biden’s assertion about rapes surging really isn’t that “crazy” after all.  “He was basically showing that as you cut police, crime goes up,”...

In essence, the reporting of this simple data, whether using Biden's data or city data, does not describe changes in the incidents of homicides in Flint or any city. The Facts Flint is certainly a violent city, ranked number one in many categories. The website of the Flint Police Department only gives data through 2008, but both the FBI and the Michigan State Police have more recent figures that are provided to them by the Flint police. The numbers are not precisely the same because of different reporting requirements, but they are roughly the same—and show a different picture than...

An organization with close ties to government employee unions is trumpeting pronouncements by a university “labor studies” department (that’s also closely aligned with unions), claiming the unionization of government employees has “no link” with state “deficits.” Michigan’s largely unionized state, local and school employees, however, are granted fringe benefits exceeding what they would get in the private sector by $5.7 billion every year. The figure may start to fall now that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation capping local government and public school employee health insurance benefits at $15,000, which represents a haircut for many, but is still 46...

Flint, a city where more than half the children live below the poverty level, lost out on a pair of $1.1 million electric buses that the federal stimulus program would have paid for when the “green technology” company making them went out of business. So now, the head of the Flint bus authority says they are trying to get a new hydrogen-powered bus that comes with a $2.5 million sticker price, more than eight times the cost of a traditional diesel bus. Ed Benning, general manager of Flint’s Mass Transportation Authority, said in an email that MTA has been discussing...

"Dozens of American cities throughout the industrial Great Lakes states and Midwest have lost half of their populations over the course of one generation -- places like Cleveland, Youngstown, Detroit, Warren, Buffalo and Flint. This is the first time that so many cities have lost half of their populations in such a short amount of time since the Plague struck Europe in 1348........."

FLINT, Michigan — Fifty homicides in less than nine months, a chilling milestone for the city of Flint. “It scares me,” said resident Cathy Layne, 49, who lives near where the body of the 50th homicide victim was found in a vacant home last week. “It scares me to walk to the store, because I might get jumped and end up in an abandoned home like that kid.” Police announced Wednesday that the body found Sept. 23 in an abandoned home on Garland Street near 10th Avenue had been ruled a homicide, making it the 50th of the year. The...

Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline. The government looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature. Local politicians believe the city must contract by as much as 40 per cent, concentrating the dwindling population and local services into a more viable area. The radical experiment is the brainchild of Dan Kildee, treasurer of Genesee County, which includes Flint. Having outlined his strategy...

FLINT, Michigan -- Look in any direction from Bianca Bates' north Flint home, and you'll see graffiti-covered siding, boarded-up windows and overgrown lots. About half of the homes on her block are burned out or vacant magnets for drug dealers and squatters. It isn't where she thought she'd end up, but it's all she can afford to rent. "It's a dangerous place to live," said Bates, 21, who lives on East Russell Avenue. "Everywhere you look, these houses are empty around here." Property abandonment is getting so bad in Flint that some in government are talking about an extreme measure...

Flint mother Latrica Ryan of 10 looks to community for help by RoNeisha Mullen | The Flint Journal FLINT, Michigan -- With 10 kids and no vehicle, Latrica Ryan is used to juggling. Going to a movie or out for dinner is a like plotting a major tactical undertaking. Not that such outings happen that much. "It would really be nice if I could take my kids where they needed to go, instead of having to find them a ride," Ryan said. "And when we do go somewhere, I have to pay four or five people (for gas) to get...

FLINT, Mich., June 27 (UPI) -- The new police chief in Flint, Mich., has a new policy on low-riding pants -- those that ride low enough to expose the rear end can lead to arrest. Interim Police Chief David Dicks said that he has been getting a lot of complaints from Flint citizens sick of looking at buttocks, Newhouse News Service reported. "This immoral self-expression goes beyond free speech," Dicks said. "It rises to the crime of indecent exposure/disorderly persons." Dicks said that any police officer who spots someone with pants that hang too low and show too much can...

<p>Imagine living in a city with the country's highest rate for violent crime and the second-highest unemployment rate. As an added kicker you need more Superfund dollars allocated to your city to clean up contaminated toxic waste sites than just about any other metro.</p>

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...