Free Republic

Several thousand bikers are set to descend on the District today as part of a ride meant to honor those who died on September 11th, 2001, despite not being granted a request for a no-stop permit and police escorts. The group behind the ride, called 2 Million Bikers to D.C., requested police escorts and to have several streets around the District blocked so that they could ride through red lights and pedestrian crossings. They were, however, denied their requests by the National Park Service and the Metropolitan Police-- which has caused outrage on Twitter and some blogs.September 11th has...

(SNIP) You don’t remember that pre-revolutionary history? I should say you shouldn’t, because it didn’t happen. But flash forward a few hundred years and you’ll find it is happening today in Cape Coral, Florida where city officials canceled a tax day tea party gathering because they “feel too many people could show-up.” That’s right, folks, the God-given, long-held American right to assemble and protest the actions of our government has been canceled due to too much popularity of the protest. (SNIP)

03.02.06 Know Your Freedoms! Update III (3/3 @ 10:49 a.m.): I’m going to do something today that I haven’t done in a loooong time: go offline. I’ll check via the Treo periodically to approve comments caught in the moderation queue. Enjoy your freedom, and rest easy this weekend! ———————————————————————Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. - Abraham Lincoln It matters little to me, in 2006, that some of the men who drafted the U.S. Constitution owned slaves or that none of them had people like me in mind when they drafted what is still and will...

Former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith took her 11-year-old family feud to the Supreme Court yesterday. But another case about sex and deception that the Court decided yesterday will surely matter more to most Americans. We're talking about the 8-0 decision (new Justice Samuel Alito didn't participate) barring the use of federal extortion and racketeering laws, or RICO statutes, to prevent public antiabortion protests. The case of Scheidler v. NOW goes back nearly 20 years, to a suit by the National Organization for Women to harass abortion opponents who demonstrate in front of abortion clinics. RICO was designed to go...

A man speaking to two women for a moment in a front yard comprised a "social gathering" subject to a fine. By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET, Times Staff Writer Published November 18, 2003 NEW PORT RICHEY - Raymond Pemburn says he is blessed with friends. They call the 89-year-old widower in the morning, or take him to lunch, or stop by to chat if they see him outside. Sometimes they gather for dinner at his home. He just never imagined having a handful of visitors would get him in trouble with his condominium association. Today the Pointe West Condominium Association board...