Free Republic

You, and your able-bodied assistant, Gort, have just arrived in Washington, D.C., as emissaries from Kepler 22b, an earth-like planet from another solar system. Your mission is to save the Republican party from committing political suicide. Unfortunately you and Gort have arrived too late. Your original flight plan had you arriving in 2007 but Gort hit the wrong button and here you are. After you and Gort check-in to a lovely two bedroom suite at the Willard you turn on TV and are astounded to find that the United States is now ruled under a socialist dictator and that the...

A Thurston County sheriff's deputy tased a man twice early this morning after he interrupted the man having sex with a woman outside a home in the 14000 block of Vail Cutoff Road, according to the sheriff's department. Patrick Bergin, 21, of Yelm, was placed under arrest on suspicion of third-degree assault, Thurston County Chief Criminal Deputy James Chamberlain said. According to Chamberlain: The incident began around 2 a.m. when a deputy was responding to a complaint of loud music outside a residence on Vail Cutoff Road. As the patrol car approached the residence, its lights passed over a couple...

In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer. Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists. The legal justification for arresting the "shooter" rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which...

Isaac Newton formulated three laws of motion, No. 3 being: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If he were still around, he'd propose a fourth: For every action, there is an unequal and opposite overreaction. Lately, Americans seem to be taking advice from Oscar Wilde, who said, "Moderation is a fatal thing." Stupidity can be met and defeated with sensible, proportionate measures. Or it can be met with even greater stupidity. Guess which is the preferred option these days. Last week, a 17-year-old knucklehead exposed his idiocy to the world by venturing onto the field at...

Dale McAlpine was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” after a homosexual police community support officer (PCSO) overheard him reciting a number of “sins” referred to in the Bible, including blasphemy, drunkenness and same sex relationships. Police officers are alleging that he made the remark in a voice loud enough to be overheard by others and have charged him with using abusive or insulting language, contrary to the Public Order Act. Christian campaigners have expressed alarm that the Public Order Act, introduced in 1986 to tackle violent rioters and football hooligans, is being used to curb religious free speech.

An 89-year-old Cincinnati-area woman arrested for confiscating the neighbor kid's football is now suing the boy's parents. Edna Jester filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court claiming she has suffered emotional distress because footballs and other playthings belonging to her next-door neighbors keep landing in her yard. In October, Jester refused to return a football, was taken to the Blue Ash police station and charged with petty theft. The prosecutor later dropped the case. The lawsuit against parents Paul and Kelly Tanis seeks unspecified monetary damages. Kelly Tanis calls the suit "very silly" but says she and her...

http://www.reason.comhttp://www.reason.com/blog/show/130429.html Gotcha! Radley Balko | December 6, 2008, 1:28pm Like Mark Draughn, I've been somewhat skeptical of Barry Cooper, the former drug cop turned pitchman for how-to-beat-the-cops videos. He comes off as more of a huckster than a principled whistle-blower, which I think does the good ideas he stands for (police reform) more harm than good. But damn. I have to hand it to him. This might be one of the ballsiest moves I've ever seen. KopBusters rented a house in Odessa, Texas and began growing two small Christmas trees under a grow light similar to those used for growing...

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina sheriff's official has apologized for plunging a funeral into chaos when undercover agents tried to arrest the dead man's son—and used a Taser on him in the process. It happened as the coffin was being loaded into a hearse. The officers planned to quietly arrest pallbearer Gladwyn Taft Russ III, The Star-News of Wilmington reported Wednesday. Relatives said two deputies dressed in coats and ties grabbed Russ and kneed him in his back before Tasering him. One deputy's gun fell out of its holster. Russ' sister, Taffy Gause, said when she got out...