Free Republic

A federal appeals court ruled against a group of Christian evangelists who were forced to leave an Arab-American street festival in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2012. Festival-goers threw rocks and water bottles at members of the Bible Believers group when they denounced Islam and called Mohammed a false prophet. In response, Wayne County authorities threatened to ticket the Christian group if they did not leave. On Wednesday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed county authorities, ruling 2-1 that police were only trying to keep public order. "The video from the 2012 festival demonstrates that (evangelists') speech and conduct intended...

U.S. Senator Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, said there are hundreds of Americans who have connections with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants. Rogers, the head of the House Intelligence Committee, voiced out on Sunday his fear that the Americans with ISIS links could enter the U.S. using their American passports. He also mentioned that some of them trained with the militant group, Albawaba News reported. Like Us on Facebook Senator Rogers said some of those Americans have gone back to the U.S. and some to Europe. He said the attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels...

Macomb County citizens shouldn't miss the chance to see our military dollars at work during the Open House and Air Show at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, Sept. 6 and 7. It's an increasingly rare opportunity to examine military vehicles and aircraft up close. "It's been biannual since the 1950s, but now is shifting to every third year," said Maj. Bart Ward, open house director. "This is one of the rare times to get on the base." It also is one of the best opportunities to touch military hardware. The general public is welcome, since the purpose...

.... Biden is scheduled to be in Detroit on Labor Day for the second time in three years. Biden is expected to address the crowd at 9:30 this morning during the annual parade.

Federal Judge Steven Rhodes will begin hearings Tuesday to determine whether Detroit's readjustment plan fulfills the legal and fiscal requirements to exit Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The trial may provide investors a lesson, instructive but painful, in how politics can override law in municipal bankruptcies. Since declaring bankruptcy in July 2013, Detroit has cut deals with nearly all of its major creditors. Workers, retirees and most bondholders this summer voted to accept the plan. Yet Judge Rhodes must still validate that the plan is "fair and equitable" and was proposed in good faith, among other standards of Chapter 9.

Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Sunday that President Obama’s inertia on whether to launch airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria is part of an overall foreign policy failure that is empowering China, North Korea, Russia and other rival nations. “It’s all related,” Rogers, R-Mich., told “Fox News Sunday." “The world sees the United States as withdrawn.” Rogers said the president’s apparent disengagement or slow response is the reason China has engaged U.S. pilots and Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved into eastern Ukraine without fear of consequence. “U.S. foreign policy is...

What do Democrats do when a hard-hitting anti-Obamacare ad threatens the electoral prospects of a Democrat Congressman? Well… You unleash the lawyers. With any luck, you might even be able to use the weight of the FCC to muscle local stations into denying the ad any air time. Because, obviously, using government regulatory agencies to strong arm broadcasters into censoring political advertisements, is a tactic in total compliance with the intent of the First Amendment. Julia Boonstra is currently suffering from Leukemia. And, until the implementation of Obamacare, she had insurance coverage that provided her with desired benefits. In fact,...

The country’s biggest conservative political organization announced Wednesday that it was diving into a bitter Republican primary in Michigan, its first such intervention into the broader battle between GOP-leaning business groups and Tea Party conservatives. The group, Americans for Prosperity, will spend about $230,000 on advertisements thanking Representative Justin Amash, for fighting against President Obama’s signature health care law, officials there said — a shot across the bow of establishment donors who are rallying behind his challenger, Brian Ellis. The ads do not attack Mr. Ellis, and officials at Americans for Prosperity said the commercial should not be construed as...

A Friday afternoon dispatch at the Politico from Carrie Budoff Brown and Jennifer Epstein tells us that "The White House is putting the finishing touches on a post-Labor Day schedule that will send the president to states where he’s still popular." The list of states where the Politico pair alleges that's the case is quite short: "Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California." That's it. Obama, in a situation resembling that of Richard Nixon in the final months of his presidency, when "Tricky Dick" was mocked for being able to find friendly audiences in just a few Southern states, is apparently...

JACKSON, Miss. — Special Judge Hollis McGehee has dismissed an election challenge filed by Chris McDaniel according to WDAM-TV. The decision ends a battle between the two since McDaniel’s June special election loss. Cochran’s attorneys asserted McDaniel should have filed his challenge within 20 days but waited until August 4. McDaniel alleged voter fraud in the election.

Michigan GOP Governor Rick Snyder is slated to speak at the annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention. Jimmy Carter is delivering the keynote, which should tell us what the tone of the convention will be: http://www.toledoblade.com/Religion/2014/08/23/President-Jimmy-Carter-to-be-keynote-speaker-at-Muslim-convention.html In 2011, Snyder spoke at an event sponsored by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR): http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20110323/POLITICS02/103230392/1022/Census-shows-Michigan-needs-immigrants–Snyder-says Both CAIR and ISNA were unindicted co-conspirators in the largest terrorism financing prosecution in US history, the U.S. v the Holy Land Foundation, in which the defendants were convicted on all counts. Both CAIR and ISNA were identified as Muslim Brotherhood organizations in captured documents...

On Monday, The Toledo Blade reported that former President Jimmy Carter, the same President who accused Israel of practicing apartheid and called for the U.S to "legitimize" Hamas, will be giving the keynote speech at the 51st annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) held in Detroit this Friday, September 1st. The speech will be held at a luncheon August 30th.

GROUP IDENTIFIES TOWNS ASSOCIATED WITH RELEASES OF IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF HOMICIDE Cities and Towns Associated with Convicted Murderers Freed by ICE in 2013 Alaska (2) Anchorage 2 Arizona (3) Phoenix 1 Buckeye 1 Tucson 1 California (48) Los Angeles 6 Pomona 3 San Jose 3 Glendale 2 Sacramento 2 Beverly Hills 1 Huntington Park 1 San Pedro 1 Montrose 1 Pacoima 1 Reseda 1 Burbank 1 N. Hollywood 1 Chino Hills 1 S. El Monte 1 La Puenta 1 Rosemead 1 Oceanside 1 Vista 1 Adelanto 1 Murrieta 1 Irvine 1 Westminster 1 Anaheim 1 Fullerton 1 Garden Grove 1...

The Islamic Society of North America or ISNA, the nation's largest Muslim group, will hold its 51st annual convention in Detroit's Cobo Center Friday through Sept. 1, and will feature former President Jimmy Carter as the keynote speaker. ... A “secret special guest” is also on the bill. The convention‘‍s opening session Friday will include words from Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, the national leader of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim member of Congress,

A cleric in Dearborn well known with supporters of the militant group ISIS owes a quarter of a million dollars in restitution and other charges stemming from his fraud convictions ... Ahmad Jebril, 43, who has gained an international following amongst ISIS fighters and sympathizers, is on probation soon after serving 6½ years in prison. Just after being released in 2012, he has used social media to turn out to be what authorities say is the most well known religious leader for Islamists from the West fighting for ISIS, also recognized as ISIL or the Islamic State. ... The Centre...

Scio Township and the West Bay Exploration Company are preparing to wade into uncharted legal waters after the township’s Board of Trustees passed a six-month moratorium banning oil exploration activity and drilling. The board passed the moratorium, along with a plan of action, by a vote of 7-0 at a special meeting Wednesday night at Scio Township Hall. According to the resolution, “during the moratorium period, no drilling operation shall be allowed in the township.” West Bay Exploration began drilling a 5,000-foot exploratory well at the corner of West Delhi Road and Miller Road this week and as of Wednesday...

Between 1989 and 2010, Congress rejected nearly 700 cap-tax-and-trade and similar bills that their proponents claimed would control Earth’s perpetually fickle climate and weather. So even as real world crises erupt, President Obama is using executive fiats and regulations to impose his anti-hydrocarbon agenda, slash America’s fossil fuel use, bankrupt coal and utility companies, make electricity prices skyrocket, and “fundamentally transform” our economic, social, legal and constitutional system. Citing climate concerns, he has refused to permit construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and blocked or delayed Alaskan, western state and offshore oil and gas leasing and drilling. He’s proud that...

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has made a $1.5 million ad buy in Michigan, a strong signal it feels good about former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land's (R) chances against Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). ADVERTISEMENT The NRSC has bought a months' worth of cable and broadcast slots in the Detroit and Grand Rapids media markets running from Aug. 26 through Sept. 22. That it's willing to spend big for Land shows it feels she still has a strong chance of defeating Peters, pushing back on the views of some observers that Peters had reasserted a small lead in...

BAY CITY, MI — They ran on issues to improve their community. They wanted blight removed and potholes filled. They wanted to be involved. They wanted to be the voice for Bay City residents in their respective neighborhoods. What they didn't anticipate was being thrown in the middle of a national debate on immigration and border control. "Never in a million years did I think I would be called on from these different sides to make these kinds of decisions," said Bay City Commissioner Kerice Basmadjian, 7th Ward. "But if little cities like us can take the lead on issues...

“Cash for Clunkers,” the 2009 Obama administration stimulus program designed to spend $2.85 billion to jumpstart the auto industry, turned out to be a complete disaster — for the auto industry. In the minds of Obama’s team of advisers and economists, the program made total sense, of course. The plan was to dangle a $4,500 credit to persuade car owners to trade in their older automobiles for new cars with better fuel efficiency. It would stimulate an economy then in the midst of a deep recession. As a bonus, it would mean less oil consumption and cleaner-running cars. The law...