Free Republic

This was the flag of slave holding states in the United States that seceded in 1861, causing Civil War. Today the symbol is used by the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazi groups, and other organizations who are hostile to African-Americans. For the last several decades, protests have continued, demanding that this flag not be displayed in public places. Many people were greatly disturbed to see that the Confederate Flag is now being displayed, not in the United States, but in Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine. Larry Holmes, a civil rights activist in New York City, explained why the flag is...

A Georgia Tech graduate student who set himself on fire while apparently experimenting with bomb-making elements in his apartment last month has died, officials confirmed Thursday. Saamer Akhshabi, an Iranian national, had burns on more than 90 percent of his body following the February 4 explosion in his apartment near the university, where Akhshabi was studying in the College of Computing. Law enforcement officials investigating the case found in Akhshabi's apartment an apparent Molotov Cocktail and multiple plastic bottles filled with gasoline and kerosene. Following the explosion, 26-year-old Akhshabi was taken in critical condition to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta,...

Wisconsin Republican seeks to restore racial categories, empower Holder DOJ Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R., Wisc.) told constituents at Wisconsin town halls that voting-rights legislation he is sponsoring does not exclude white voters from the protection of the Voting Rights Act. Sensenbrenner also says he is proud to work with the ACLU and far-left groups to pass the legislation that would resurrect Attorney General Eric Holder’s powers to block state election laws such as voter ID or citizenship verification. In a video from Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe, Sensenbrenner also accused Texas and Georgia Republicans of trying to stop minorities from...

Wife killed Ga. soldier for insurance, feds say By Jan Skutch Morris News Service March 5, 2014 SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The wife of a slain Fort Stewart soldier schemed with her brother to kill her husband in exchange for a $160,000 insurance policy payout, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday. Lillie Eubank, 39, told investigators she arranged to have her brother, Carl Evan “Cowboy” Swain, travel from Alabama to Savannah, bought a T-ball bat and selected the site for the attack at a recreation park on Fort Stewart, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Heaps Ippolito said. The victim, Army Spc. John Joseph...

Although whites outnumber blacks 2-to-1 in Georgia, black babies are aborted at a rate nearly 2.5 times greater than white babies and comprise 53.6% of the total number of abortions in the Peach State. An additional 24.3% of the total abortions are of Hispanic and other races (Asian, Native American), meaning 77.9% of the the total abortions in Georgia are of non-white babies -- 22.1% of those killed by abortion are white children. Those numbers come from the 2010 Abortion Surveillance report issued by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the latest year for data on abortion available...

ATLANTA, Mar. 3, 2014 – Today, the Georgia state house of representatives passed a bill which bans the state from participating in significant portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). House Bill 707 (HB707), introduced by Rep. Jason Spencer, pushes back against the ACA in five ways. It passed the house in a late-night vote of 115-59. Specifically, HB707: 1. Prohibits any state agencies, departments or political subdivisions from using resources or spending funds to advocate for the expansion of Medicaid. This provision works hand-in-hand with HB990 to make it more difficult to expand Medicaid. HB990 would require legislative approval...

The entire flap over SB 1062 in Arizona has left a lot of people scratching their heads, particularly given the virtual media explosion over the fate of the bill and what it means going forward. As it turns out, there is similar legislation pending in Georgia even as we speak, and even though public clamor has already led to the bill being taken off the calendar, the rampant hyperbole which marked the coverage of Jan Brewer’s decision is not in short supply. One of the leading shots across the bow was penned for CNN by the two person team of...

The familiar Washington narrative on the scrum for the U.S. Senate has been rinsed, recycled and delivered once again: Republicans are primed to pick up the six seats necessary to capture control of the upper chamber. The midterm atmosphere sure looks ripe, the polling appears favorable but, as it did in 2010 and 2012, the most competitive batch of races will likely come down to candidate quality. It’s the key component that stifled GOP chances before, and could very well again. .... .... A closer look at the most competitive contests demonstrates why a Senate majority in 2014 is again...

An Ellenwood homeowner called 911 three times during a home invasion and said she could not get an operator on the phone. Danielle Bryan was at home alone on Tuesday night around 8 p.m. She said a Jeep drove around her house and a man was looking through her window. Bryan called 911. . . . The logs also show Bryan waited nine seconds, 11 seconds, and one minute and 21 seconds before hanging up. Bryan never got through to a dispatcher. . . . She ran and hid in her bedroom closet. Her alarm company called her and then...

Less than 24 hours after Arizona’s governor vetoed a bill that had been criticized as anti-gay, similar legislation in Georgia and Mississippi are hitting new roadblocks. Georgia state senator Josh McKoon conceded on Thursday that support for his religious-freedom bill is evaporating, 11Alive Atlanta reports. He told the Huffington Post that a committee vote on his legislation, previously scheduled for next Monday, has been taken off the calendar. McKoon said his bill merely protects religious rights of Georgia residents, but critics argued it would allow business owners to refuse services to gays based on religious beliefs. In Mississippi, the state...

Americans for Responsible Solutions, a national gun control organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband, announced a campaign Wednesday to defeat a sweeping gun bill that would widely expand access to guns in Georgia.

I DIDN’T GET THAT MEMO: Georgia police chief claims his force has to switch to 9mm handguns… because U.S. military switched to .40? A Georgia police force is switching to 9mm pistols. The Senoia Police Department says they are forced to make the switch due to the fact that they can’t find .40 S&W ammunition… because of the U.S. military’s switch to that caliber ... The U.S. military has never widely issued a .40 S&W pistol, so I’m assuming that Chief Edens and Councilman Fisher stopped at the narcotics evidence locker before doing their interview with the Times-Herald. I’m also...

Those who lollygag in the left lane of highways and interstates could be ticketed under legislation approved in the state House on Wednesday. House Bill 459, by Rep. Bill Hitchens, R-Rincon, was approved 162-9. The bill makes it a misdemeanor for any driver on a divided highway who does not move to the right when a car going faster approaches from behind.

They offered more insight Monday. #According to Flowery Branch Police Chief David Spillers, Homer resident Dustin Cody Holcombe and a female were walking toward their car that morning when they were “confronted” by Battle. #“Battle was armed with a handgun pointing it at Holcombe and (the female) and talking in a threatening manner,” Spillers said in a news release. “Holcombe retrieved a firearm from his vehicle and stated that in shooting Battle it was his intention to defend himself and (the female).” #Spillers offered no further theories on what might have been said between Battle and Holcombe, or anything else...

Demographic changes are inevitably driving Texas and Arizona into purple — and eventually blue — territory. The growth of the Latino population is poised to overwhelm predominantly conservative white voters in both states, absent a genuine and successful rebranding by the Republican Party. But another red state will reach that status sooner: Georgia. After Mitt Romney’s 2-point victory in North Carolina during the 2012 race, Georgia was the second closest red state at the presidential level. President Obama lost it by 7.8 points in 2012, after losing it by just over 5 points in 2008. In raw vote totals, that...

Republican congressional hopeful Bob Barr picked up the endorsement of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Thursday and criticized a key part of the House GOP blueprint for overhauling the nation’s immigration laws. “He was a great U.S. attorney, a great congressman,” Arpaio said. “That is why I am here to help him.” A former Libertarian presidential candidate, Barr is competing in a crowded Republican primary to replace U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey in Georgia’s 11th congressional district. Barr called Arpaio an “international spokesman for good, solid, tough law enforcement.”

The fourth Georgia hospital in two years is closing its doors due to severe financial difficulties caused by Obamacare’s payment cuts for emergency services. The Lower Oconee Community Hospital is, for now, a critical access hospital in southeastern Georgia that holds 25 beds. The hospital is suffering from serious cash-flow problems, largely due to the area’s 23 percent uninsured population, and hopes to reopen as “some kind of urgent care center

On February 18, Georgia lawmakers will vote on expanding the exercise of concealed carry to include churches, bars, and non-secured portions of airports.

The relentless snow and ice storms this winter have led to the highest number of flight cancellations in more than 25 years... U.S. airlines have canceled more than 75,000 domestic flights since Dec. 1, including more than 14,000 this week. That's 5.5 percent of the 1.37 million flights scheduled during that period.

When a DeKalb County woman returned home early Tuesday to find two teenagers in her home, she knew she needed to protect herself. She grabbed her gun. The woman, who asked not to be identified, told Channel 2 Action News she walked into her Tucker home as one teen ran out the back door and the other tackled her to the ground.