Free Republic

Full title: Boy, 12, stole mum’s credit card, booked flight to Bali and spent four days living life of luxury after fight with parents. A cheeky schoolboy stole his mum's credit card and flew to Bali, spending four days living a life of luxury, after getting into a fight with his parents. The boy, who has not been named, booked the cheap flight after researching online which airline would allow him to travel by himself without parental permission. He managed to find a ‘cheap deal’ to the Indonesian island and booked the flight on a school day, 9news reports ....

Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg says he will not return to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School until more gun control is passed. Hogg made the comments Sunday during a gun control rally held at Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston, New Jersey. The New York Daily News reports that Hogg said, “I’m not going back to school on Wednesday until one bill is passed.” He did not specify which law he wants most, only that he is not going back until at least one law garners the support of lawmakers. He said, “Literally any legislation at this point would be...

Labor: Unionized Wisconsin teachers should be ashamed of their response to legislation that would end their privilege to bargain collectively. And if such lousy behavior continues, they should be relieved of their duties. The Wisconsin government is in a financial hole, operating with a $137 million deficit for the current fiscal year ending June 30. Its future is filled with bigger deficits, projected to be as large as $3.6 billion. One way to cut into the shortfall is to end the public employee unions' collective bargaining privilege that has landed them the generous salaries and benefits the taxpayers are struggling...

U.K.: Catholic schoolchildren told to dress as Muslims -- headscarves included -- for mosque visit, or be marked as truants From our You Can't Make This Stuff Up Department, conveniently located down the hall from our You'll Want to Read This Sitting Down Department. "Parents' outrage as Catholic school children told 'dress as a Muslim for mosque trip - or you will be branded a truant'," from the Daily Mail, May 12 (thanks to Tziona): A Catholic schoolgirl has been branded a 'truant' by her teachers after she refused to dress as a Muslim for a school field trip to...

Officials believe 26-year-old woman had sex with student. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- School officials fired a home-school coordinator after an investigation found she allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old student, authorities said. The 26-year-old was under contract with the Wayne Township school district as a non-teaching staff member, officials said. She served as a type of social worker, coordinating activities between the school and parents or other adults who are responsible for teaching students off-campus. Her job included working closely with students who skip school, cause trouble, struggle with class work or otherwise have problems. She was not a licensed teacher....

The coming economic crisis. Unemployment. Health care for the poor. The almost 1,500 dead soldiers. The almost 100,000 dead Iraqis. Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher. The Christian Conservative takeover of our nation. The missing 9 billion. The missing weapons of mass destruction. The impending invasion of Iran, and Syria. The total failure to protect us on 9-11.

Miami-Dade police said an officer should not have used a stun gun to stop a 12-year-old girl who was skipping school. A Miami-Dade police officer used a Taser to stop an unarmed, 12-year-old girl who was running away from him after she was caught skipping school, police acknowledged Friday night. The incident happened Nov. 5, just over two weeks after other Miami-Dade officers used a stun gun to restrain a first-grader. In that case, police said the 6-year-old boy was holding a shard of glass and threatening to cut himself. Police Director Bobby Parker defended the decision to shock the...

CURRENT RUMOR HAS TEXAS DEMOCRATS IN OKLAHOMA HOTEL Rumor continues... OK governor not cooperating, feds may be brought in.

California legislation sparked concerns parents could face child-abuse chargesProposed legislation that would have equated truancy with child abuse in California raised suspicions among homeschool advocates it represented a fresh attack on home-based education. The legislation, titled SB 950, would have added "habitual truancy" to the definition of child abuse by amending the Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300. According to the language of the bill, it called for children who have up to five unexcused absences from public school to be immediately taken from their family and put into the juvenile court system. Parents would no longer have been given...