Free Republic

The Michigan State Police have started using handheld machines called "extraction devices" to download personal information from motorists they pull over, even if they're not suspected of any crime. Naturally, the ACLU has a problem with this. The devices, sold by a company called Cellebrite, can download text messages, photos, video, and even GPS data from most brands of cell phones. The handheld machines have various interfaces to work with different models and can even bypass security passwords and access some information.

The stakes have never been more high. The opponents of our decision to exercise our right of peaceable assembly to redress grievances with our Government are vile filth who have no compunction about destroying us. Literally. In fact, the more brutal the backlash against our initial efforts, the sooner the entire fight will be over as the steam is released from the pressure cooker by the shocking images on CNN. Expect there to be a police presence at all Tea Parties. Expect there to be highly trained and fanatically dedicated plants by Acorn and their militant wing, sometimes referred to...

FOX Business Network has filed a lawsuit against the United States Treasury Department over failure to provide information on the bailout funds or respond to FBN’s expedited requests filed under the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA]. The initial request, filed on November 25, sought actual data on the use of the bailout funds for American International Group and the Bank of New York Mellon, and an additional request, filed on December 1, sought similar data on the bailout funds for Citigroup, Inc. FBN is asking for the Treasury Department to identify, among other issues, the troubled assets purchased, any collateral...

U.S. Constitution - Article 1 Section 6 Article 1 - The Legislative Branch Section 6 - Compensation paragraph two states: "No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office."

Firearms We recognize that the right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition, and we will preserve Americans’ continued Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation, but we know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne. We can work together to enact and enforce common-sense laws and improvements, like closing the gun show loophole, improving our background check system and reinstating the assault weapons ban, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals. Acting...

GOVERNMENT SCHOOL TO SUE ... a parent? The government school district in Galveston, Texas is threatening to sue a parent for what the school district says is libelous material on the parent's website. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=67e7147b74f58ff1 Sandra Tetley runs a site – www.gisdwatch.com – where she posts information about the local government school system and its officials. If she does not remove the statements from the website, the district plans to sue her. Tetley accuses trustees and administrators of breaking the law. Her group, Galveston Alliance for Neighborhood schools, has a history of criticizing the district for reconfiguring its middle schools, closing...

WASHINGTON, August 3, 2006 – Coalition forces captured a wanted terrorist along with two others during a raid near Bayji, Iraq, yesterday, U.S. military officials reported. The raid is one of a series of successful operations targeting a terrorist cell involved in aiding foreign terrorists throughout central Iraq. The raid occurred without incident. Coalition forces have been effectively dismantling this group, which has reportedly orchestrated attacks, kidnappings and bombings of civilians, officials said. In addition, Iraqi and coalition forces announced that a recently captured foreign terrorist would be turned over to the Iraqi government for prosecution under the Iraqi justice...

In defiance of state law, the Oakland school board voted tonight to grant diplomas to seniors who have not passed the state-required exit exam, in a 4-2 vote. However, because the bankrupt district is under state control and the board has been stripped of decision-making powers, the resolution cannot be enforced unless approved by state-appointed Administrator Randolph Ward. Ward was chosen to lead the district by State Superintendent Jack O'Connell, who authored the exit exam legislation, in 2003. Ward left the meeting before the board voted and could not be reached for comment. "Let's not be frightened by O'Connell. Let's...

IF YOU ARE STILL CONFUSED ABOUT THE IMMIGRATION MESS WAIT UNTIL YOU READ THE FOLLOWING. THIS IS WHAT 'HISPANIC' LEADERS HAVE SAID : Augustin Cebada, Brown Berets; "Go back to Boston! Go back to Plymouth Rock, Pilgrims! Get out! We are the future. You are old and tired. Go on. We have beaten you. Leave like beaten rats. You old white people. It is your duty to die . . Through love of having children, we are going to take over". Richard Alatorre, Los Angeles City Council. "They're afraid we're going to take over the governmental institutions and other institutions....

If the 4th Amendment can be ignored...then so can the 2nd. Are you ready to give up your gun?

Mbabane - Swaziland's King Mswati III has picked a 17-year-old schoolgirl as his new fiancée and she will be introduced to the public as his 13th bride-to-be once she passes an HIV test, said royal sources on Monday. Less than five months after picking 16-year-old Nothando Dube as his 12th bride-to-be, the 36-year-old Mswati has now chosen Colile Nosiphe Magagula, known as Titi, as his next fiancée. She will be "unveiled" once she passes an HIV test and once she gets royal blessings from the Queen Mother Ntombi Thwala of Swaziland, where close to 40% of the population is living...

American professor says arrest is unlawful By Andrew Gumbel 10 September 2003 A Palestinian university professor being held in solitary confinement on terrorism charges in Florida has urged a federal judge to throw out his case, saying it amounted to a "thoughtless slaughter of First Amendment rights" and sought to criminalise him solely for his political beliefs. The motion, filed by Sami al-Arian, is the latest twist in a tormented case that has pitted free-speech advocates and fellow academics against pro-Israeli terrorism experts and the local media on Florida's Gulf Coast, who have waged a campaign against Mr al-Arian for...

FAISALABAD, June 7: A Dutch firm announced winding up of its operations and projects in Pakistan declaring the country 'unsafe' for the foreign investment adding that "powerful personalities" are threatening its staff with dire consequences. Jacob and Associates Bv., Netherlands, executive director Z. A. Malick told a press conference here on Saturday that his firm tried its best to launch a number of development projects in different parts of the country, especially in Faisalabad, but all efforts proved an exercise in futility due to poor coordination from the agencies concerned as well as threats from some "people working on high...

<p>Sacramento -- Legislation requiring motorists to use hands-free devices while making cell phone calls beginning Jan. 1, 2005, cleared a huge hurdle Thursday, squeaking out of the Assembly with no votes to spare.</p> <p>Boosted by a California Highway Patrol study that found cell-phone use a leading cause of accidents involving distracted drivers, the bill passed 41-26 after languishing for more than two years without reaching a floor vote.</p>

11/27/02Immigrants Leaving Mounds of Trash on Tohono O'Odham Indian Sacred LandsBy Paul CicalaThe Tohono O'Odham Nation faces an environmental crisis. Every day, nearly 1,500 undocumented immigrants pass through the U.S.'s second largest indian reservation, leaving thousands of pounds of trash on tribal lands.News 13 recently got a first-hand look at some of the areas on the reservation that appear more like a trash dump than sacred lands.Piles of trash grow to mounds of trash on the Tohono O'Odham lands. In the process of searching for the American dream, some immigrants are trashing Arizona.Henry A. Ramon, Vice Chairman for the...

 There is a possibility that in elections where a candidate for federal office is on the ballot, early voting may violate the U.S. Constitution. (For me this definitely violates our Constitution)Although a number of states have had early voting statutes in place for some time, there is currently a lawsuit pending in Texas to have that state’s early voting statute declared unconstitutional.20 Under the authority of the Constitution, federal law specifies a single federal election day (the Tuesday after the first Monday in November) as the exclusive day throughout the U.S. for balloting for U.S. Representatives, U.S. Senators, and...

Cannabis poses a greater threat to health than tobacco, lung experts have warned. The warning comes on the day that Home Secretary David Blunkett is due to make a Commons statement about the future of government drug policy. Many young people are simply not aware that smoking cannabis may put them at increased risk of respiratory cancers and infections . Dame Helena Shovelton: The Home Affairs Select Committee has recommended that cannabis is downgraded from a class B drug to class C. This would mean that possession would lead to a caution, rather than arrest. The British Lung Foundation is...

FRAMINGHAM, MA - More than 25 leaders from local immigrant organizations gathered yesterday in the Memorial Building to discuss what they can do to solve the number-one problem among undocumented immigrants: driving without a license. A growing number of undocumented immigrants are arrested and sent to court because they drive with invalid or fake documents or without any at all. Local advocates said 90 percent, if not more, of the undocumented population is in dire straits. "They're scared to be arrested or go to court," said Juliane Lima of the MetroWest Latin American Center. "But they need to go to...