Free Republic

The county still has no approved Nativity scene or Christmas tree, more than a week after Loudoun's Board of Supervisors reversed a committee's decision to ban public displays. The supervisors will probably change that at a special meeting Thursday by ironing out details about who can set up displays...The meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. at the school administration building in Ashburn, an hour before a scheduled public input session on the budget. On Dec. 1, supervisors voted, 7 to 1, to allow community groups "equal access" to the grounds. A decision last month to bar any structures, religious or...

Nope, you did not miss Weeks 202 and 203. This Saturday’s Support the Troops Rally was so neat that I had to do it now. While our snowy Saturday morning is nothing compared to what the mid-west or northeast is getting, we were out there. Roll call of this week’s 7 patriots includes Legionnaires Halsey (Korea - USMC), Lurker Bill and Cindy_True_Supporter, Fraxinus, GunsAreOK, [Mrs] Trooprally and myself. Videos by [Mrs] T. Because of the weather conditions, and the construction removing the concrete walk where we put together our banners on wet days, we only put up the flags on...

Hampstead must decide if it will pay $2.89 million for a 10-acre parcel of property that it acquired in an eminent domain trial. The six-member jury came up with the $2.89 million figure Tuesday as just compensation for the property the town wants to take from Oakmont Green, a golf course in Hampstead. The town sought the land because it includes a well. That figure is more than the highest appraisal that was presented in the trial. After the number was announced, Lee Snyder, owner of Oakmont Green Inc., was on the verge of tears. He said he is hoping...

Fellow FR member has been invited back on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning to talk about small business and Obama's fake job summit. From 6:15-6:25 or so with a panel of two other small business owners. Mark Kreslins The Forgotten Men Show (930 WFMD)

WASHINGTON -- The North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Continental U.S. NORAD Region plans a training flight exercise over the Washington area. The exercise, called Falcon Virgo 10-03, will take place late this evening and early tomorrow. It will include civil air patrol aircraft and Coast Guard helicopters. The exercise is made up of a series of training flights held in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Capital Region Command Center, the Joint Air Defense Operations Center, the Continental U.S. NORAD Region (CONR), Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard and CONR's Eastern Air Defense Sector.

I just received this email today and would love to see Patriots and pro-lifers to step up to the cause. Please join and let your voice be heard. Please tell everyone about this.Thanks OverturnRoe.com - Randall Terry - ProLifeWarrior.com "If a wound when necessary is not cauterized or cut out with steel, but simply covered with ointment, not only does it fail to heal, but it infects everything, and many a time death follows from it...Why does that shepherd go on using so much ointment? Such a man is a right hireling shepherd, for, far from dragging his sheep from...

Regular readers are familiar with the concept of "Authorized Journalists"—professionals who work for "mainstream media" and are considered (sometimes by government and generally by themselves) to be the exclusive authoritative and credible purveyors of information. Think "Only Ones" with a press pass. These readers are also familiar with the many failings we've demonstrated where establishment reporters bring personal bias, along with "sins of omission and commission" into supposedly straight news stories. And then there are glaring errors where the only explanations seem the writers do not know (or fact-check) their subject matter, or they know damn well but have an...

BALTIMORE - Machine gunfire broke out during a birthday party at a downtown Baltimore hotel, critically injuring three people. Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi (goo-lee-EL'-mee) says police were called to the Sheraton hotel around 3:15 a.m. Sunday because of a report of a shooting. Guglielmi says a fight broke out at the party and then someone began shooting. Police found the Uzi submachine gun in one of the two adjoining rooms where the party was held.

Mikulski Amendment would include Planned Parenthood in health care bill, says pro-life leader Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) Washington D.C., Dec 6, 2009 / 04:32 am (CNA).- A pro-life leader has criticized the Senate’s addition of the Mikulski Amendment to the proposed health care bill, voicing concerns that the provision’s sponsor herself has admitted it would fund some of Planned Parenthood’s services. The amendment’s required coverage of “preventive care” could also include abortions. The Mikulski Amendment, passed on Thursday by a vote of 61-39, requires group health plans and health insurance issuers to provide coverage for “preventive care” for women...

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) ― Ozzie Newsome and the Baltimore Ravens are reaping the benefits of yet another good draft. Three players selected by Newsome in the 2009 NFL draft have become significant contributors. The play of rookies Michael Oher, Lardarius Webb and Paul Kruger have the Ravens (6-5) in the thick of the AFC wild-card hunt. Oher has started every game at offensive tackle and Webb was a solid special teams contributor before taking over last week for injured Fabian Washington as a starting cornerback. Kruger didn't get much action in September and October, but his interception in overtime...

Time: December 5, 2009 from 11am to 2pm Location: BJ's Street: 13053 Fair Lakes Shopping Center City/Town: Fairfax VA Website or Map: http://www.facebook.com/sarahpalin Event Type: book, signing Organized By: O. P. Ditch Latest Activity: 1 day ago

The letter I sent was a copy from someone's post I found here on FR. In Cardin's response nowhere does it mention the subject of "Climategate". Total complete denial or ignorance...idiots... Dear Mr. --------: Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the American Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733). I understand your concerns about the impact such legislation will have on Americans. At the same time, I believe that global warming is real and needs to be addressed. The good news is that S. 1733 can be a cost effective way to address this threat and help...

Jurors in the theft trial of Sheila Dixon convicted the Baltimore mayor Tuesday on a single charge of taking gift cards intended for the city's poor. Although Dixon was acquitted of a felony theft charge, her conviction could force her from office. The jury found Dixon not guilty of the most serious crime, felony theft. The jury decided that Dixon did not knowingly steal about $530 in Target and Best Buy gift cards purchased in December 2005 by developer Patrick Turner, who testified they were intended for "the children of Baltimore." Dixon was City Council president at the time. The...

Fall painting, raking leaves, winterizing the summer’s motorized yard equipment, cutting and splitting firewood - then there’s every day work if one has it, to pay the bills. And before I know it, the Olney AARs are 3 weeks behind. So here’s the oldest two weeks. I have something special for Weeks 202 and 203 so they will be separate AARs. Pictures for both weeks are by [Mrs] T. WEEK 200, Nov. 07,2009 Roll call of this week’s 11 patriots includes Legionnaires Glenn (WWII - Marines), Halsey (Korea - USMC), Dennis (Korea - Army), Carl (Vietnam - Army), Lurkers Bill...

The Baltimore Sun lambasted Sen. Richard Burr's (R-NC) proposed S. 669 -- Veterans' Second Amendment Protection Act -- in an editorial called "Guns and the mentally ill" published on Nov. 16. The next day, it was forced to post a retraction. Actually, the paper's editorialists didn't write the retraction, Burr did in a blistering point-by-point rebuke that, essentially, exposed The Sun's opinion-mongers' as being heavy on the opinion, but light on the facts. "Just as the public expects elected officials to read the text of bills before they pass judgment on them, your editorial board should do the same. Yet...

Walter Reed, Week 241, 11/27/09 Thanksgiving – Thanking Our Brave Soldiers The Friday After Thanksgiving FRONT GATE NOTES November 27, 2009, Thanksgiving, No Bus and Patriotism Friday night after Thanksgiving is normally quiet with light traffic. Tonight was no different. Very windy, making the hi 40’s seem like the lo 30’s. Even so, eleven of us were in place during the evening. The wind was so stiff that our banners would have blown away, leaving us with signs and hand held flags. The war doesn’t stop though and two big ambulances raced down Georgia Ave and into Walter Reed to...

RICHMOND | The governors of Virginia and Maryland, both Catholics, said Tuesday that it would be wrong for the church to suspend or reduce social services in the nation's capital if the District approves gay marriage. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley criticized the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington's response to the District's gay marriage proposal during a joint appearance on Washington radio station WTOP. The D.C. Council is expected to approve gay marriage next month. The archdiocese says that unless the proposal is amended to add a religious exemption, its Catholic Charities won't be able to continue...

Crisis pregnancy centers in Baltimore must display signs stating they do not provide abortions or birth-control referrals under a measure approved by the City Council Monday night and thought to be the first of its kind in the nation. Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a Democrat who was lead sponsor of the initiative, called the measure a victory for women's well-being. (snip) But abortion opponents say the bill unfairly targets centers that they say provide accurate information and much-needed assistance to poor women. "The thing that's most disappointing about it is not the particular signs that are put up or the...

An illegal alien has been sentenced to life in prison for breaking into an 83-year-old woman's home, grabbing her by the throat, smashing her head into furniture, saturating her with gasoline and setting her body on fire while she was still alive – all to cover up his check fraud scam after she hired him to cut her lawn.

City Council expected to approve rules for offices that don't provide abortion, birth control By Matthew Hay Brown | matthew.brown@baltsun.com November 23, 2009 Both sides of the abortion debate will be focusing on Baltimore today, when the City Council is expected to approve a first-in-the-nation law imposing new regulations on faith-based organizations that try to steer women away from the procedure. The measure, introduced by council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake at the behest of Planned Parenthood of Maryland, would require that crisis pregnancy centers that do not provide abortions or birth control post signs saying so. Proponents frame the effort...

Below is a letter I am considering sending to my local newspapers and placing on my blog. I would like to solicite comments/advice/recommendations from Freepers before I send it out.

GW University Students Enthusiastically Display Troop Support At Walter Reed FRONT GATE NOTES November 20, 2009, Students, Soldier Hugs and Patriotism A big Shout-Out for the over 33 university students from George Washington University who warmed a brisk Friday evening by waving American Flags at passing cars, chanting USA, USA, USA…. and singing patriotic songs until 8:30pm. Many wounded warriors are about the same age as these students, and seeing university students supporting our military was especially meaningful to the wounded warriors and their families who are constantly coming and going through the front gates. It is an important...

A Potomac, Md., Islamic center maintains links to Iran despite its claims that it is independent of a foundation that is being sued by the U.S. government on charges of funneling money to the Islamic republic. Ali Mohammadi, the current manager of the Islamic Education Center (IEC) of Maryland, told The Washington Times that the center's only relationship to the Alavi Foundation is that of tenant to landlord. He quoted a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office as saying that forfeiture proceedings initiated earlier this month against the foundation - which also owns property in New York and other states...

DC Activists: Mobilize on Nov. 23! From 12-1pm on Monday November 23, join NOW activists from the mid-Atlantic region as they campaign outside the Senate office buildings against the Stupak Amendment. Nearest metro station is Union Station. We'll be meeting at Constitution Avenue, on the block in front of Russell and the corner of Constitution and Delaware. View map

Not to mince words - the modern synthesis is gone --snip-- "The discovery of pervasive HGT and the overall dynamics of the genetic universe destroys not only the tree of life as we knew it but also another central tenet of the modern synthesis inherited from Darwin, namely gradualism. In a world dominated by HGT, gene duplication, gene loss and such momentous events as endosymbiosis, the idea of evolution being driven primarily by infinitesimal heritable changes in the Darwinian tradition has become untenable." ...

An unlikely trio explored several Baltimore schools Friday as part of an effort to highlight education reform and challenges, and called on Maryland to give charter schools more autonomy. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich repeatedly emphasized the need for changes to the state's charter school law, which he called "too restrictive," as he, the Rev. Al Sharpton and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan toured three city schools and spoke with students, administrators and others about their schools -- and what sets them apart. "I hope that everybody in Maryland will call the governor, will call the legislators, and will let...

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

Catholic Campaign For Human Development 2009 CCHD National and Local Grants From the CCHD website (THIS IS WHO GETS THE MONEY) From the Alternative Directions "Our Staff" web page (THIS IS WHO WORKS AT THE PLACE THAT GETS THE MONEY-CHECK OUT THE GREY HAIR GUY) From the Maryland Sex Offender Registry

Washington, D.C., had the dubious distinction of beating all 50 states to post the highest rates in the nation for the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. The District of Columbia had a Chlamydia rate of 1,177 cases per 100,000 people--almost three times the rate of its neighbors, Virginia (405) and Maryland (439). Mississippi was a distant second, at 728 cases per 100,000 people. By comparison, California’s rate was 407 cases per 100,000; New York came in at 458; New Mexico...

The annual CCHD (Catholic Campaign For Human Development) collection will be held in churches this coming weekend-November 21 and 22. This is the same group that was giving money for years to the Saul Alinsky-style group called ACORN before ending its relationship with the controversial group. After much criticism for its leftwing funding, the CCHD has supposedly tightened up their standards. Unfortunately these new standards are not working because the CCHD is still funding groups that: -Have a registered sex offender (child porn) on the staff -Are working to change laws so you can not refuse to rent to convicted...

A Baltimore police dog was shot Sunday evening by a police officer during a foot pursuit of a motorist who drove through a speed checkpoint in South Baltimore, said a Police Department spokesman. About 6 p.m., police were manning the checkpoint in the 2600 block of Wegworth Lane near Hollins Ferry Road, near Wegworth Park, when a male motorist failed to stop when ordered and drove through the stop, said Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Police Department. Guglielmi said the motorist got out of the car a few moments later and was fleeing on foot when officers at the...

Three days after his father's execution, the 27-year-old son of D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad said Friday that he doesn't want to be judged by the crimes of a father he didn't really know until the shooting spree. Striking an almost defensive chord, Lindbergh Williams told reporters, "I am the son of the D.C. sniper, but not him. You see what I'm saying? I am my own man and make my own decisions." Muhammad was put to death Tuesday in Virginia for killing Dean Harold Meyers at a gas station during an October 2002 shooting spree that left 10 people...

The Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force just released a report which claims that due to tougher laws and a concerted effort by law enforcement, many illegal alien gangs are leaving Virginia for the safe havens of Maryland. The report said: "Many gang members from Northern Virginia are moving or driving to Prince George's and other Maryland counties, into the District of Columbia or further south and west into Virginia to avoid dealing with police departments that are unrelenting in their efforts to keep gangs under control.” The report also found that there are 5,000 gang members in Northern Va.,...

Yesterday the US attorney’s office in Manhattan moved to seize assets of a non-profit foundation tied to Iran. Among those assets are four mosques in New York, California, Maryland and Texas, 100 acres of land in Virginia and a 36-story building at 650 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Much of this activity centers around the ties of the foundation, the Alavi Foundation, to Bank Melli. We have written extensively on Bank Melli here on SFW. It has been, for the past three years in a row, the largest Shariah-Compliant financial institution in the world, according to the UK periodical “The Banker”...

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today expressed concern about the government’s move to seize mosques in New York, Maryland, California, and Texas. Officials accuse the foundation that owns the mosques of being tied to the Iranian government...CAIR said the unprecedented move by the government may have First Amendment implications for the American Muslim community. “Whatever the details of the government’s case against the owners of the mosques, as a civil rights organization we are concerned that the seizure of American houses of worship could have a chilling effect on the religious freedom of citizens of all faiths and may...

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) said Thursday that House Democrats should brace for challenging races in 2010, but he dismissed the idea that next year’s mid-term elections would be an all-out sweep for Republicans. “People who think this is a redux of 1994 are totally misreading the current situation,” said Van Hollen, a speaker at Bloomberg’s Washington Summit. Democrats are in a situation for a historically “very tough cycle” given the party’s major victories in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, said Van Hollen, who is also assistant to the Speaker. “I set these expectations back...

MARLOW HEIGHTS, Md. - U.S. Park Police say a man was fatally struck by two U.S. Secret Service vehicles at a Suitland Parkway intersection. Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley says the two armored vehicles were traveling from Andrews Air Force Base to a Washington garage when the pedestrian was hit around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Suitland Parkway and Naylor Road in Temple Hills. Wiley says the vehicles were returning from a vice presidential trip to Fort Lewis in Washington state. He says the Secret Service employees driving the vehicles immediately stopped to help the man.

Montgomery County Council favors forcing crisis pregnancy centers to provide govt-approved message by Steve Schulin, Maryland Independent Party Maryland - Seven of the nine members of Montgomery County Council have co-sponsored a resolution which will require pregnancy centers to provide government-approved information. The proposal is characterized as a consumer protection measure to remedy, in the words of Council member Duchy Trachtenberg, the "misleading and medically inaccurate information that's being provided to young women at these centers". The actual text of the resolution does not appear to be posted on the Council's web site yet, but here's how The Washington Post...

Third quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures were announced recently with that index rebounding to reflect that the US economy is growing again at a 3.5 percent rate. The financial talking heads rejoiced and investors continue to power the stock markets higher. Fed Chair Ben Bernanke even predicted that the recession was over when he told the Brookings Institute in mid-September, "From a technical perspective, the recession is very likely over at this point." Mark Zandi, chief economist and cofounder of Moody's Economy.com told the Joint Economic Committee, "The Great Recession has finally come to an end, in large part...

JARRATT, Va. -- John Allen Muhammad, the sniper who kept the Washington region paralyzed by fear for three weeks as he and a young accomplice gunned down people at random, was executed Tuesday night by lethal injection.

t - 3 hrs and counting down..

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) denied clemency for John Allen Muhammad on Tuesday, clearing the way for the sniper to be executed by lethal injection at 9 p.m. and putting an end to one of the most trying local criminal cases in U.S. history. Muhammad, 48, was convicted of capital murder in the slaying of Dean Harold Meyers on Oct. 9, 2002, at a gas station outside of Manassas, part of a spree that left 10 people dead in the Washington area and included shootings in several other states. A jury in Virginia Beach, where the trial was moved...

WASHINGTON - The man at the center of the investigation for the sniper shootings says he won't be at John Allen Muhammad's execution Tuesday night. "I don't think I will be personally interested. I have seen a lot of death and destruction and I don't think I am interested anymore," former Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose tells Channel 5. Moose was the face of law enforcement during those three terrifying weeks in October 2002. Muhammad is scheduled to be executed at 9 p.m. for the killing of Dean Harold Meyers at a Manassas gas station. Meyers is one of...

Hello, Mike Ruane here to talk about the DC sniper case and answer your questions. _______________________

MOUNTAIN HOME, IDAHO -- The setting sun is streaming in the living room window of Marion Lewis's house as he puts aside his cigarette and starts telling the story of the day his daughter was murdered. break He remembers the day, Oct. 3, 2002, when Lori Lewis Rivera was shot to death by the D.C. snipers at a gas station in Kensington. Two thousand miles away, her father was oblivious, out in the wilderness running a giant rock-crushing machine. Lewis stares at the floor as he recalls it, kneading his beefy hands and wiping away tears with his fingers. break...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to block the execution of John A. Muhammad, the sniper who terrorized the Washington area seven years ago. The step cleared the way for Mr. Muhammad to be put to death on Tuesday unless Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia intervenes. The court did not comment in refusing to hear Mr. Muhammad’s appeal, but three justices objected to the relative haste accompanying the execution. Justice John Paul Stevens complained that “under our normal practice,” Mr. Muhammad’s petition for the court to take his case would have been discussed at the justices’ conference scheduled...

Seven years after he and his teenage sidekick terrorised the Washington area with a three-week killing spree using a high-powered rifle, John Allen Muhammad — the “Beltway sniper” — is due to be executed tonight by lethal injection. The execution is reviving memories for the millions of people in Washington, Virginia and Maryland who spent October 2002 crouched in their cars as they pumped petrol, ducking and weaving across open spaces and running into schools with their children, glancing anxiously at nearby woods. Muhammad, a former soldier and 41 at the time, and Lee Boyd Malvo, then 17, triggered the...

The Supreme Court Monday denied John Allen Muhammad's request to stay his execution, clearing the way for Virginia to put to death the man who terrorized the Washington region as the Beltway Sniper. Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor objected to the court's haste, saying it "highlights once again the perversity of executing inmates before their appeals process have been fully concluded." Stevens, writing for the three, said Virginia had short-circuited the process by scheduling Muhammad's execution for Tuesday night, earlier than the court would normally have reviewed his petition for the court to take his...

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block Tuesday's scheduled execution of sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad. The Court did not comment Monday on why it refused to consider his appeal. Muhammad is scheduled to die by injection at a Virginia prison for the slaying of Dean Harold Meyers at a gas station during a three-week spree in October 2002 across Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

John Allen Muhammad is scheduled to be executed tomorrow for the Beltway-area sniper spree that left 10 innocent people dead in 2002. Several family members of the victims will attend. At the time of the murderous rampage that stretched over three, horror-filled weeks... where Muhammad and his young partner in crime, Lee Malvo, wreaked bloody havoc. I covered two main aspects of the story that were underplayed by the MSM–Lee Malvo’s illegal alien catch-and-release story and Nation of Islam convert Muhammad and Malvo’s Muslim hate-mongering. Snide MSM’ers and the CAIR propagandists attacked those of who called these thugs what they...