Free Republic

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - In an effort to discourage homeless camps, Washoe County Commissioners voted on a controversial camping ban. Community members came forward Tuesday morning to speak on the ordinance that would make it a misdemeanor to sleep in a car or tent, or park an RV on county owned property. “Its unconstitutional to arrest someone who has no access to alternative shelter,” said one resident. ... The Supreme Court will also have a hearing to weigh in on whether cities can legally ban or limit unhoused people camping in public spaces. If they vote against this, the current...

Georgia Carry & Phillip Evans win Five Year Legal Battle at Supreme Court: Image: Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Multi-license GFDL, all CC-BY-SAArizona -(Ammoland.com)- The road to restore Second Amendment rights in Georgia has been long and hard fought. Much has been regained through the legislature. Many of the infringements on the Second Amendment were imposed as part of the effort to keep freed blacks from enjoying their new rights as citizens.In 1868, in what was known as the “Camilla Massacre”, black marchers and their Republican supporters had defended themselves with firearms, even though several...

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has closed a portion of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge This area is about 3500 acres in size. Our concern for public safety is paramount. The situation in this zone has reached a point where continued public use of the area is not prudent. The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge has been adversely affected by border-related activities. The international border with Mexico has also become increasingly violent. Assaults on law enforcement officers and violence against migrants have escalated. Violence on the Refuge associated with smugglers and border bandits...

...We need to restore the original definitions of "law," "establishment," and "religion" in the First Amendment. A monument or display could never be a "law," the mere posting or installation of it is not an "establishment," and the recognition of God by the public display of the Ten Commandments is not "religion." After all, the original definition of the word "religion" -- the duties we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging those duties -- which was recognized by the Supreme Court years ago, acknowledged God and a higher law. ...[I]t should be clear that, as Justice Antonin...

I am looking at the front page, top center story in the Sacramento Bee for Friday, December 3, 2004, the gist of which is that a Christmas tree was erected in the rotunda of the Federal courthouse in Sacramento. Soon after, an attorney donated a Menorah to the display to commemorate Hanukkah, which almost immediately aroused a controversy, as a result of which both the Menorah and the Christmas tree were removed, which aroused another controversy, whereupon the Menorah and the Christmas tree were restored to the rotunda, and ever since a debate has raged whether it is permissible to...

DETROIT -- The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday redefined the power of Michigan governments to take property for development projects, overruling a landmark 1981 decision and barring Wayne County from acquiring land for a 1,300-acre project near Detroit Metropolitan Airport. On the court’s final day of its term, all seven justices agreed that the earlier precedent should be overturned, though they differed on the reasons and whether the decision should be applied retroactively. Justice Robert Young, who wrote the lead opinion, called the 1981 case allowing Detroit’s Poletown neighborhood to be cleared for a General Motors Corp. plant a “radical...

RENO, Nev. (AP) - A U.S. Forest Service climbing ban on a Lake Tahoe landmark is unconstitutional because it promotes religion, a rock climbing group contends. In papers filed Thursday in support of its federal lawsuit against the agency, The Access Fund claims the ban at Cave Rock gives control over public property to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. The Boulder, Colo.-based group maintains the tribe has always said Cave Rock is a religious, sacred site. The Washoe tribe has opposed climbing on Cave Rock, located on U.S. 50 between Glenbrook and Zephyr Cove on Tahoe's east shore....

<p>Chris Loarie has waged a battle against the boarders, inventing something he calls skatestoppers (search) &#8212; metal brackets that serve as mini speed bumps and can render almost any surface unskateable.</p> <p>"We've got customers that have, just here in San Diego, spent upwards of twenty, twenty-five thousand dollars replacing broken granite simply because of skating and biking," said Loarie, whose business Intellicept sells the product.</p>

As Oregon struggles with joblessness and economic stagnation, it's hardly surprising that longtime opponents of Oregon's land use planning system will try to place the blame on laws that have protected our state's quality of life for a quarter-century. Bill Moshofsky's falsely reasoned guest viewpoint (Register-Guard, Aug. 25) is just the latest example. Moshofsky's column does, however, provide an opportunity to consider the economic impact of Oregon's land use laws. When we do, it becomes clear that our land use program is among our most important tools for promoting economic recovery and protecting the billions of dollars of investments...

Orlando Salinas broke in a few minutes ago and announced this on Fox News.

Multiple trusted sources have reported anti-war protests that, by design, have crippled the traffic flow in various American cities. In particular, Palace correspondents in Boston and San Francisco tell of groups of unruly demonstrators shutting down major thoroughfares by physically occupying them, thereby bringing city traffic to a halt. Up to now, metropolitan police have been exceedingly reluctant to remove them by force. As Glenn Reynolds of InstaPundit has said, these activists, who claim they speak for the workingman, don't seem to have the workingman's interests very much in mind. What your Curmudgeon finds noteworthy is the justification offered by...