Free Republic

During his visit to Mexico last week, President Obama suggested that Americans are partly to blame for the appalling violence associated with the illegal drug trade there. "The demand for these drugs in the United States is what's helping keep these cartels in business," he said. "This war is being waged with guns purchased not here but in the United States."Obama is right that the U.S. is largely responsible for the carnage in Mexico, which claimed more than 6,000 lives last year. But the problem is neither the drugs Americans buy nor the guns they sell; it's the war on...

Two states have legalized same-sex marriage in the past two weeks, but when it comes to public opinion, supporters of gay marriage are still a minority. That minority is on an upward trajectory though and Scott Barclay, political scientist at the State University of New York at Albany, explains why: newspapers. In the last two weeks, two states have legalized same-sex marriage. First, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a law banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Then Vermont became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage through its legislature. When it comes to public opinion, supporters of gay marriage are...

Analysis of news reports on the drug gangs of Mexico and their guns reveals a two way division. One is of those forced to spend money in America buying American made weapons, and the others: dealing with Cuba, Panama, Venezeula, China, et al for the much cheaper and heavier stuff. There are two reasons for supporting the US Buyers side: It's good business for American makers to sell for cash, and there is also the underlying political factor of allowing Cuba, Venezeula, Nickagowa (sp) China to develop political and financial influence with competing gangs. We should be helping our American...

The Israeli heroin market, worth half a billion dollars in 2008, is largely supplied by channels running through south Lebanon, according to estimates by the Anti-Drug Authority. Israel Police, who were able to stop only a fraction of the drug smuggling in the past year, said a significant portion of the funds made their way to Hizbullah.

Methamphetamine use during pregnancy appears to cause abnormal brain development in children, U.S. researchers said. Study author Dr. Linda Chang of the University of Hawaii at Manoa and colleagues used brain scans on 29 3- and 4-year-old children whose mothers used methamphetamine while pregnant and 37 unexposed children of the same ages. The MRI scans used diffusion tensor imaging to help measure the diffusion of molecules in a child's brain, which can indicate abnormal microscopic brain structures that might reflect abnormal brain development. The study, published online in the journal Neurologyscans, showed that children with prenatal methamphetamine exposure had differences...

You don’t have to be a Libertarian to join one of the thousands of Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Parties on April 15. Whatever your political affiliation, the Libertarian Party is urging advocates of economic freedom to rise up in protest. The Libertarians are taking credit for initiating the “tea party” concept. The group says it started with the Libertarian Party of Illinois, which began organizing a 2009 Tax Day ‘Boston Tea Party’ in Chicago back in December of 2008 and created a Facebook group for it on Feb. 10, 2009. Nine days later, CNBC’s Rick Santelli, broadcasting from the floor...

The House of Representatives votes 298-to-112 to approve sweeping legislation to bring tobacco under control of the Food and Drug Administration for the first time. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/02/house-approves-plan-fda-regulatory-power-tobacco/

Nigeria's anti-narcotics agency confiscated 6.5 tonnes of marijuana on Tuesday - from the home of a man who claimed he was 114 years old. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it had found 254 sacks of cannabis at the home of Sulaiman Adebayo in Ogun state, north of the commercial capital Lagos. 'The quantity of drugs suggests a large scale involvement ... There is more to the case than Pa Sulaiman,' NDLEA chairman Ahmadu Giade said in a statement. Adebayo, who said he had been a farmer all his life, told police he thought the sacks contained rice.

A church in Ashland, Ore., can import and brew a hallucinogenic tea for its religious services, under a federal court ruling issued March 19. Judge Owen M. Panner issued a permanent injunction that bars the federal government from penalizing or prohibiting the Church of the Holy Light of the Queen from sacramental use of "Daime" tea. The church, which blends Christian and Brazilian indigenous beliefs, uses tea brewed from the ayahuasca plant in their services. The tea contains trace amounts of the chemical dimethyltryptamine, or DMT. According to the church's lawsuit, the tea is the central ritual and sacrament of...

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

While running for the Republican presidential nomination in 1976, Ronald Reagan stumbled onto an issue that energized his upstart campaign. In stop after stop, he recalled, people expressed “utter disbelief” that an American president — the Republican incumbent, Gerald R. Ford — would even think of relinquishing control over the Panama Canal. Knowing next to nothing about its history, but quite a lot about the politics of flag-waving, Reagan quickly turned the canal into a symbol of American resolve in an increasingly dangerous and disrespectful world. “We bought it, we paid for it, it’s ours,” he told the cheering crowds,...

We mentioned earlier that, as Libertarian candidate Eric Sundwall has been disqualified from the race, we expected Republican Jim Tedisco to gain ground over Democrat Scott Murphy in Tuesday's special election to succeed Kirsten Gillibrand in the House. Murphy is, after all, the candidate of the more statist Party. Others thought so too. Now we learn that Sundwall has endorsed Murphy. At his campaign site, Sundwall says: Mr. Tedisco denies any involvement with the concerted effort by his supporters to knock me off the ballot. I don't believe him. The ruthless effort by his supporters to knock me off the...

A way forward for a troubled political coalitionAfter their dismal performance in election 2008, conservatives are taking stock. As they examine the causes that have driven them into the political wilderness and as they explore paths out, they should also take heart. After all, election 2008 shows that our constitutional order is working as designed. The Constitution presupposes a responsive electorate, and respond the electorate did to the vivid memory of a spendthrift and feckless Republican Congress; a stalwart but frequently ineffectual Republican president; and a Republican presidential candidate who — for all his mastery of foreign affairs, extensive Washington experience,...

Cannabis users 'suffering new syndrome' Pot Smokers Suffering 'New Syndrome':GREENING OUTWhat are these? Nasty high ... "Grown men, screaming in pain, vomiting every 30 seconds and demanding to use the shower" - that's how a doctor describes new symptoms affecting cannabis users.... THERE is mounting evidence to support the existence of a new syndrome afflicting heavy cannabis users... The condition "cannabinoid hyperemesis" ...is characterised by nausea, stomach pain and bouts of vomiting - ill effects which, oddly, sufferers say they get some relief from by having a hot shower or bath. The new case, involving a 22-year-old man in Omaha,...

A report compiled by federal and Missouri law enforcement officials has ignited a firestorm of criticism that shows no signs of letting up. A confidential analysis on “The Modern Militia Movement” compiled by the state “fusion center” has drawn livid responses from people and groups listed in the document. State officials — including those at the Missouri Information Analysis Center in Jefferson City, which compiled and disseminated the report to police — stand behind it, contending it has been misinterpreted. The eight-page MIAC report listed warning signs indicating someone might be a domestic terrorist or a member of a militia....

Drug Addict Tortured Toddler To DeathA heroin addict has been jailed for 12 years for torturing and killing his partner's two-year-old daughter. The victim, called Lois, suffered a catalogue of horrific injuries in the six weeks leading to her death including multiple fractures, burns and bruises. She died from brain damage after being shaken by Daniel Bishop at the home he shared with her mother, Sarah Bishop, in Caerphilly, south Wales. The court heard 13 fractures were inflicted on her body in the last six weeks of her life. Wounds were also found on the sole of her left foot,...

The Muslim world is not fooled by our talk about spreading democracy and values. The evidence is too overwhelming that we do not hesitate to support dictators and install puppet governments when it serves our interests. When democratic elections result in the elevation of a leader or party not to our liking, we do not hesitate for a minute to undermine that government. This hypocrisy is rarely recognized by the American people. It’s much more comfortable to believe in slogans, to believe that we’re defending our goodness and spreading true liberty. We accept this and believe strongly in the cause,...

WEST MICHIGAN -- The family of injured shooting victim Derek Copp has hired a lawyer who is questioning why the Grand Valley State University student was shot by police and the basis of a search warrant to look for marijuana in his off-campus apartment. "We have some very important questions about what appears to be some shocking police activity," Grand Rapids attorney Fred Dilley said Monday. Dilley questioned the safety and necessity of raiding a student's apartment, entering through a rear slider, and the "manner in which it was served and executed." "The question is, is that a sufficient basis...

Congressman Ron Paul on the righteous indignation over the AIG bonuses, when the real problem is the the trillions of dollars wasted by the Fed and Congress with the stupid bailouts.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff soundly dismisses the claim that legalizing drugs will end cartel violence. There may be good reasons for legalizing some or all drugs, and in a libertarian vacuum perhaps there is a compelling case that individuals should be free to ingest whatever poisons their mind and bodies desire provided that the government is not required to pick up the costs from the inevitable wreckage in their addicted lives. However, the notion that legalization will remove the involvement of the drug cartels and other organized crime groups simply is preposterous. The fact is that not only...

Moonshiner 'Popcorn' Sutton laid to rest; widow blames government DUNCAN MANSFIELD, Associated Press Originally published 06:42 p.m., March 18, 2009 Updated 06:42 p.m., March 18, 2009 U.S. Marshals Service Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton Popcorn died as he lived, daughter says Johnny Knoxville interviews Popcorn Sutton Moonshiner's death being probed as likely suicide KNOXVILLE - Famed Appalachian moonshiner Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, whose incorrigible bootlegging ways were as out of step with modern times as his hillbilly beard and overalls, took his own life rather than go to prison for making white lightning, his widow says.

Under President Obama, it was expected that porn pushers might find a sympathetic ear, given the smut industry's generous support of liberal politicians and causes. But the fox is no longer circling the henhouse. He's made it inside. On March 12, the "world's greatest deliberative body," the U.S. Senate, voted 65 to 28 to elevate porn attorney David Ogden to be deputy attorney general. Eleven senators from the "Party of Family Values" (Lamar Alexander, Kit Bond, Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, Judd Gregg, Jon Kyl, Richard Lugar, presidential nominee John McCain, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter and George Voinovich) joined a nearly...

US to sign UN gay rights declaration By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON – The Obama administration will endorse a U.N. declaration calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality that then-President George W. Bush had refused to sign, The Associated Press has learned. U.S. officials said Tuesday they had notified the declaration's French sponsors that the administration wants to be added as a supporter. The Bush administration was criticized in December when it was the only western government that refused to sign on.

An outspoken critic of government and advocate of personal liberty was arrested Wednesday and his Nacogdoches business seized by the state comptroller's officer for failing to collect and pay sales tax.Five Nacogdoches police officers and several enforcement officers from the comptroller's office arrived at IT Freelancers on North Street Wednesday morning, announcing their intention to halt business there until $33,000 of unpaid taxes are remitted to the state. A local locksmith arrived to change the locks on the building, and a comptroller's employee posted a sign on the door warning everyone — including the business owner — to keep off...

EASTON, Pa. (AP) - A man accused of driving drunk said Pennsylvania courts have no jurisdiction over him because he's his own country. After seeing the paperwork that 44-year-old Scott Allan Witmer filed with the court claiming sovereignty, a Northampton County judge said Tuesday he cannot be released from jail until he gets a mental exam.

BELOIT, Wis. - Police years ago pulled over a young woman who rushed through an amber traffic light. "I'm about to arrest this person right now," the irritated officer radioed to a dispatcher. "She's telling me her name is Marijuana Pepsi Jackson." It's the truth. Marijuana and Pepsi are her legal first and middle names, and the Beloit woman embraces them as a symbol of her struggle to succeed and to help other children overcome obstacles. No Mary or Mary Jane or Mary Wanda for her. It's Marijuana, thank you, she's told bosses, co-workers and friends over the years, and...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Governor Tim Kaine was joined by health advocates, legislative patrons and other stake holders in Virginia Beach Monday as he signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars throughout Virginia. < snip > Kaine worked for years for a total ban of smoking in all restaurants. Generally, the bill requires any restaurant that allows smoking to limit it to an area separated from nonsmoking patrons by a wall and a door and a ventilation system that doesn't mix secondhand smoke with fresh air. The ban will take effect Dec. 1.

Heeding the advice of Gen. David Petraeus, Barack Obama has committed 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan and will keep 50,000 in Iraq after U.S. combat operations end in August 2010. But are U.S. vital interests more threatened by what happens in Anbar or Helmand than in the war raging along our southern border? Prediction: After all U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Korea have come home, there will be a U.S. army on the Mexican border. For this is where the fate of our republic will be decided, as the fate of Europe will be decided by the millions streaming...

People suffering from cancer, AIDS and other diseases could turn to marijuana for pain relief under a plan approved Wednesday by an Illinois House committee despite claims that it would be a step toward legalizing pot. Under the legislation, people with a doctor's permission would be eligible for a state registry card allowing up to seven marijuana plants in their homes and 2 ounces of "usable cannabis." The measure is written to expire after three years. Advocates say marijuana eases pain without the side effects of heavier drugs and reduces nausea from chemotherapy. "There is needless suffering going on out...

A pro-family activist believes there is a huge battle looming between libertarians and social conservatives in the Republican Party. He says this battle was highlighted by a survey he conducted at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, regarding the homosexual agenda. More than half of the nearly 9,000 conservative activists at CPAC last week in Washington were under the age of 22. Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, says most of the young people he surveyed at CPAC were against the legalization of same-sex "marriage," but notes there was a lot of confusion about the issue...

Medical marijuana advocates were celebrating Thursday night. The U.S. Attorney General has announced plans to end raids on medical marijuana dispensaries that are legal under state law.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Some drunks got out of hand near Beale Street in Memphis, but instead of barflies it was birds intoxicated from eating fermented fruit. The Health Department investigated this week after receiving calls about dead and floundering birds, cedar waxwings to be exact. The birds were crashing into buildings in the Peabody Place area. An investigator told The Commercial Appeal he traced the problem to berries from nearby holly trees. Recent freezes ruptured berry cells, allowing the wild yeast to convert sugars into alcohol. The birds apparently got tipsy from consuming the fermented berries. Health officials said they...

Supporters of programs to provide legal marijuana to patients with painful medical conditions are celebrating Attorney General Eric Holder’s statement this week that the Drug Enforcement Administration would end its raids on state-approved marijuana dispensaries. Federal raids on medical marijuana distributors continued at least into the second week of Barack Obama’s presidency, when federal agents shut down at least two dispensaries in California on Feb. 3. Holder was asked about those raids Wednesday in Santa Ana, Calif., at a news conference that was called to announce the arrests of 755 people in a nationwide crackdown on the U.S. operations of...

Study Says One Drink A Day Ups Women's Cancer Risk ShareThis Miami, FL (AHN) - A study out of England has sobered the moods of those who have embraced the countless studies touting the health benefits of at least one alcoholic drink per day. Researchers at the University of Oxford studied almost 1.3 million middle-age British women and concluded that just one glass of wine, beer or any other type of alcoholic beverage increases a person's risk of cancer.Specifically, the researchers said moderate alcohol consumption in women accounts for 13 percent of breast, liver, rectal, upper respiratory and digestive tract...

The always insightful Rich Karlgaard writes in Forbes.com, “Libertarians (the capital “L” variety) like to map their belief set by something called the Nolan Chart, a quadrant. One axis on the quadrant divides traditional political liberals and conservatives. The other axis divides those who desire freedom from the state from those who want a bigger state. Silicon Valley, where I live, is home to both political liberals and conservatives–more liberals of late, but not by a huge margin. The lopsidedness occurs on the freedom-statist divide. An overwhelming majority of Valley residents would place themselves on the freedom side and against...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A long-time sports columnist for The Grand Rapids Press turned himself in Wednesday on two marijuana charges, one a felony. David Mayo was released from the Kent County Jail Wednesday afternoon after appearing via video arraignment on a felony charge of posessing five to 45 kilograms of marijuana (11-99 pounds) with intent to distribute and a misdemeanor charge of maintaining a drug house. A Kent County sheriff's lieutenant told 24 Hour News 8 Mayo's home was one of five indoor marijuana-growing operations busted by the Kent Area Narcotics Enforcement Team and the US Drug Enforcement...

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - Police arrested a 34-year-old man they said let his 8-year-old son drive a van just before midnight Sunday. A Bradenton police report said the boy hit a two trees and nearly hit two pedestrians in a parking lot when his father let him drive.

All good points and I agree with them all to one extent or another. But — and you knew there had to be one — it bothers me when conservatives offer the blanket concession that social liberalism and the social aspect of libertarianism are one and the same. To say you are an economic conservative is to say you are a libertarian on 95% of the relevant issues. But to say you are a social liberal isn't anything like saying you are a libertarian on 95% of social issues. Social liberals are often quite aggressive advocates of using state power...

Mexican drug violence spills over into the US U.S. authorities are reporting a spike in killings, kidnappings and home invasions connected to Mexico's murderous cartels. And to some policymakers' surprise, much of the violence is happening not in towns along the border, where it was assumed the bloodshed would spread, but a considerable distance away, in places such as Phoenix and Atlanta. Investigators fear the violence could erupt elsewhere around the country because the Mexican cartels are believed to have set up drug-dealing operations all over the U.S., in such far-flung places as Anchorage, Alaska; Boston; and Sioux Falls, S.D....

Look, I don't blame Michael Phelps for apologizing. He has a living to earn, so he did what he had to do. In the meantime, I merely note that this broken wreck of a man's failure to win any more than a pathetic fourteen Olympic gold medals (so far) is a terrifying warning of the horrific damage that cannabis can do to someone's health—and a powerful reminder of just how sensible the drug laws really are.

Press Release For Immediate Release Friday, January 23, 2009 Barr hails Obama orders on Guantanamo, torture, tribunals Says steps start process to restore rule of law in America Former Republican Congressman and Libertarian Presidential Candidate, Bob Barr, today issued a statement praising executive orders signed yesterday by President Obama ordering the closure of the military detention center at Guantanamo, restoring the practice of treating detainees according to legal norms, firmly stopping the practice of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques," and doing away with the military tribunals that denied fundamental due process to detainees since their creation shortly after...

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's top court has ruled that workers cannot be fired for being drunk on the job, a decision that was criticized by the government on Wednesday for setting a dangerous precedent. The Constitutional Tribunal ordered that Pablo Cayo be given his job back as a janitor for the municipality of Chorrillos, which fired him for being intoxicated at work. The firing was excessive because even though Cayo was drunk, he did not offend or hurt anybody, Fernando Calle, one of the justices, said on Wednesday.

Press Release For Immediate Release Friday, January 14, 2009 Barr Supports Closure of Guantanamo Prison Endorses Obama Proposal Former Congressman Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party's 2008 nominee for president, issued a statement Wednesday morning applauding President-elect Obama’s reported plan to close the controversial military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where many suspected terrorists have been held, often without hearings, since shortly after 9/11. “If there are detainees there as to whom the government has evidence they pose a serious danger to the United States, then house them at the Super Max federal prison in Florence, Colorado and prosecute them....

It is one thing to raise cigarettes taxes to discourage people from smoking, especially the poor for benefits to their health. I guess the democrats figure they can raise cigarette taxes and people will keep smoking so the government can afford to give these working poor people Health Insurance for their children. (Let’s not get into the 2nd hand smoke stuff). Is this making sense? Maybe I read the press release wrong!

The announcement by Turner Sports came on Friday, hours after police said the 45-year-old Hall of Famer was legally drunk when he was arrested on Dec. 31 on suspicion of drunken driving in Scottsdale, Arizona. Barkley will be off the air for a minimum of several weeks, and no return date has been set, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it.

BANTAM - Film and stage actor Rip Torn was arraigned Monday on drunken driving charges in Bantam Superior Court. Elmore “Rip” Torn, 77, a Salisbury resident, pleaded not guilty before Judge Cara Eschuk to charges of illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence and failure to drive in the proper lane. Torn is represented by Torrington attorney A. Thomas Waterfall of the firm Smith, Keefe, Moraghan and Waterfall. Eschuk warned Torn not to drive if his license is suspended. He was scheduled to return to court Jan. 28. Despite two prior drunken driving arrests in New York,...

No defending the Defense of Marriage Act The author of the federal Defense of Marriage Act now thinks it's time for his law to get the boot -- but for political reasons, not in support of gays. By Bob Barr In 1996, as a freshman member of the House of Representatives, I wrote the Defense of Marriage Act, better known by its shorthand acronym, DOMA, than its legal title. The law has been a flash-point for those arguing for or against same-sex marriage ever since President Clinton signed it into law. Even President-elect Barack Obama has grappled with its language,...

Of course they did. It's Massachusetts. The voters passed a ballot initiative that made possession of less than an ounce marijuana a civil violation with no criminal consequences. And since Massachusetts is run by libtards, the law has shockingly caused a whole lot of problems. For starters, the police have given up - they won't even bother to write the ticket. More . . .

A jury sentenced a Lakeview man to 10 years in prison for growing nearly 7,500 marijuana plants. Andrew Stever, 40, was sentenced on Monday after a three-day trial in the Federal District Court in Medford.Ten years is the mandatory minimum sentence for anyone convicted of growing 1,000 or more pot plants. In July 2007, officers from several local, state and federal agencies found 7,459 plants growing on Stever's Lakeview property, which bordered Forest Service land. Two men fled the scene, leaving behind personal property and three firearms, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Portland. Physical evidence and testimony linked...

"It's funny what a wonderful gentility you get in the bar of a big hotel," Ernest Hemingway has Jake Barnes say to Brett Ashley in "The Sun Also Rises." They are sipping nice icy Martinis at the bar of the Palace Hotel in Madrid and marveling at the elegant professionalism of bartenders. "Barmen and jockeys are the only people who are polite any more," Brett says, and Jake agrees: "No matter how vulgar a hotel is, the bar is always nice." If only that were still true. Once upon a time, hotel bars set the standard for sophisticated drinking, with...