Free Republic

Congress gave final approval yesterday to legislation that will bring more Americans under the umbrella of “disabled” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). President Bush said he’d sign the bill (S. 3406). The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 reverses several court rulings from recent years that had limited the scope of ADA protections. It directs U.S. courts to apply a broader definition when deciding what truly qualifies as an ADA-covered disability. The biggest change: The bill makes clear that courts (and employers) should not take into consideration any “mitigating measures” that reduce the impact of an impairment—such as medication,...

While the indigenous Christian Europeans don't reproduce, in 2-3 generations Europe will be majority muslim. The same is true for Russia much to my regret. He actually says "I am the victim." Have a view.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will kick off the Democratic National Convention by making one thing clear: The Democratic Party is united behind Sen. Barack Obama... When asked whether she expected a large demonstration by Sen. Hillary Clinton's delegates Tuesday, Pelosi said, "I'm all for it." "This is not unusual in a campaign," she said. "It's healthy. It's important that people who have worked really hard during a campaign are able to express themselves at the convention on behalf of the candidate they worked for. They have to respect the results.... Pelosi had tough words today for reporters who referred to...

Finally some justice, now our two border agents need to be released. Smuggler shot by agents gets 9½ years in prison Mexican national sentenced for part in later incidents By ALICIA A. CALDWELL Associated Press Aug. 6, 2008, 11:55PM Complete coverage of immigration issues EL PASO — An admitted drug smuggler shot by a pair of former U.S. Border Patrol agents was sentenced to nearly a decade in federal prison Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2008 – Coalition and Iraq security forces killed four enemy fighters and detained dozens more during several operations over the past few days, military officials said. Coalition forces killed four terrorists and detained 18 suspected terrorists yesterday and today during operations around Baghdad targeting al-Qaida in Iraq bombing networks. Coalition forces conducted a series of operations near Balad, targeting the financier behind a bombing network in the Tigris River Valley. At one location today, coalition forces came under attack by small-arms fire from a nearby rooftop. They returned fire and killed four armed men. At other locations...

Judges are banning terms such as 'rape' and 'victim' as prejudicial to defendants Call it the age of the Loaded Word. A steadily increasing number of courts across the United States are prohibiting witnesses and victims from uttering certain words in front of a jury, banning everything from the words "rape" to "victim" to "crime scene." Prosecutors and victims' rights advocates nationwide claim the courts are going too far in trying to cleanse witness testimony, all to protect a defendant's right to a fair trial. Concerns and fears over language restrictions have been percolating ever since judges in Nebraska and...

There was a pre-Lewinsky time, before moral relativism blurred America's vision, when associating with people like Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers would have automatically excluded someone from attaining the highest office in the land. Back then, anyone with well known connections to such America-averse personalities would have been rejected by a super-majority of the electorate during primary season and almost certainly blocked by the Democratic Party before they could have gotten to within a mile of the White House. But those days -- when patriotic, true liberals like Joe Lieberman were considered typical Democratic Party politicians -- are gone. Now...

If you want to understand the negative impact of feminism on women (and men) and, by extension, the destructive effects of liberal teachers, Democratic politics and liberal news media on African-Americans, here is Katie Couric last week on the CBS Evening News: "A new study on teens and sexual harassment should give every parent pause. "Most teenage girls report they've been sexually harassed. ... In a study that appeared in the journal Child Development, 90 percent of teen girls say they've been harassed at least once." Millions of American parents and their daughters were told on one of the most...

4/11/2008 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- Since 3-year-old Al Amreeki left Balad Air Base, Iraq, with more than 45 percent of his body burned from a stove fire at his home, he has come a long way due to treatment from Airmen and medics throughout the world. The young boy's uncle brought him to the Air Force Theater Hospital in Iraq Jan. 25, and since then the boy has traveled aboard a C-17 Globemaster III to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and onto Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and finally arriving by commercial air bus to...

A gunman accosted a man carrying a duffel bag containing nearly $150,000 in broad daylight Friday next to a New York City Starbucks coffee shop, leaving his victim empty-handed and bloodied, WNBC.com reported. Seton Ijams, 50, had just withdrawn the money from a Chase Bank when the assailant approached him from behind, pistol-whipped him in the head and dragged him on the sidewalk as he clung to the bag, police said. Police said the robber is between 25 and 30, was dressed in a black parka and black pants and is about 5 feet 9 inches tall, WNBC.com reported. Limousine...

Whenever western governments mention weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and Muslims in the same breath, the western media immediately breaks into wild frenzy warning its people that a catastrophic event of epic proportions is about to unfold. Old European fables of Muslims spreading Islam by the sword are reinvented to convey the impression that Muslims are extremely dangerous, highly irresponsible and pay scant regard to human life. Hence the mantra of disarming Muslim countries of WMD has become the rallying cry of the West directed against the Muslim world. In some cases the arguments are extended to justify the West’s...

Meet Melonie Griffiths-Evans, the new poster child for the Subprime Lending Scandal of 2008. You’ve probably seen her on TV, or read about her in this newspaper. She’s the single mom with three kids who just wanted to “live the American dream,” as she puts it. In December 2004, with no down payment and working as an assistant teacher, she signed on the dotted line for a $470,000 subprime mortgage on a house in Dorchester. Three years later, the government foreclosed on her loan. She was to be evicted yesterday, until a threatened physical confrontation from a coalition that calls...

<p>GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) – State police said the man charged with crashing into two parked cars on Interstate 40/85 Sunday morning is an illegal alien.</p> <p>Investigators said Jose Balderas has yet to produce a photo ID, and will not be released from jail until he provides one. Balderas reportedly told investigators he has been living in Washington, D.C. for the past seven months.</p>

Better late than never - even when it's seven years late. In 2000, Congress passed a law authorizing visas for illegal immigrant crime victims. Seven years later, federal immigration officials say they're finally ready to start issuing "U-visas" to certain victims who cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes. Federal immigration officials attribute the delay to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the resulting mass reorganization of government agencies in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "We realize it took a long amount of time," U.S. Citizenship and...

Robbery target won't be victim, kills intruder When two armed men allegedly attempted to rob a house full of young adults in Brunswick early Monday morning, their victims fought back. A man visiting the house at 601 Wolfe St. in the city's south end pulled a handgun from the front of his pants and shot the two would-be robbers, killing one of them and wounding the other, police said. Police did not release the names of the two suspects. No charges had been filed Monday. The renters of the house, Leah Whitman, 18, Robert Herd, 20, and Josh Stout, 20,...

(FReeper thread from earlier today: Ron Paul Will Win Debate But Be Discredited)[FOX News just declaired Ron Paul the winner in tonights debate....but Ron Paul's win has been discredited by Hannity]Now to the article......: Washington D.C.: An analyst at USAElectionPolls.com has recently published the frequency the top news sources mention each of the Republican candidates. As expected, the top tiered candidates were mentioned most often but by how much varied. Their analysis found that the New York Times, USA Today, and CBS News were the fairest of all the news sources analyzed. The biggest "culprit" according to the web site...

Wed Aug 1, 7:54 PM OTTAWA (AFP) - Canadian researchers on Wednesday said they positively identified the remains of a young child who died when the RMS Titanic sank in 1912. (Advertisement) The remains belong to a 19-month-old English boy named Sidney Leslie Goodwin who died with his family as they were setting out for a new life in Niagara Falls, New York, researchers said. Goodwin's body was found floating in the waters of the North Atlantic six days after the luxury liner sank on April 15,9 1912, killing 1,503 passengers and crew. Many of the Titanic victims are buried...

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- Titusville resident William Herring acted in self-defense when he grabbed a gun and shot two intruders who attacked him in his garage early Sunday morning, killing one of them, police investigators said. It's the third fatal shooting in Titusville in three weeks, but unlike the other two, police are not looking at it as a criminal offense, Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported. Herring, 46, has not been charged. Herring was working in his garage at 908 S. Washington Ave. in downtown Titusville when he spotted two men on his property "in an area they didn't...

First Known Gunshot Victim in Americas Discovered Kelly Hearn in Buenos Aires, Argentina for National Geographic News June 19, 2007 The first known gunshot victim in the Americas was an Inca Indian killed by a musket-wielding Spaniard nearly 500 years ago in Peru, scientists announced today. (See pictures and watch video.) The casualty's skeleton was discovered in 2004 while excavating an Inca cemetery in the Lima suburb of Puruchuco—less than a mile from thousands of Inca mummy bundles discovered by Peruvian archaeologist Guillermo Cock. The individual may have been killed during an Inca uprising against Spanish conquistadors in 1536, according...

Tory Bowen says she knows what happened to her ... But she won’t be able tell her story to jurors... because a judge’s order bars witnesses from using words like “rape” and “sexual assault” in the trial of Pamir Safi, who is accused of sexually assaulting Bowen. In my mind, what happened to me was rape,” said Bowen, 24. “I want the freedom to be able to point in court and say, ‘That man raped me.’” Last month, Lancaster County District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront denied a motion by prosecutors that would have prohibited Safi’s attorneys from using words like “sex”...

A woman who says she was spanked with a pingpong paddle is the latest person to file charges against a Baptist preacher in Culpeper. Laura Beth Scott, 26, charged the Rev. Charles V. Shifflett with assault "with the intent to maim, disfigure, disable or kill." It is the fifth charge brought this year against the former pastor of Calvary Baptist Church. All are related to Shifflett's former position as headmaster of the Calvary Baptist Academy, which was part of the church's outreach program. Shifflett, who is no longer with the church, turned himself in about 9:30 a.m. yesterday and was...

CAMP TAJI — Multi-National Division–Baghdad Soldiers provided healthcare to a badly burned Iraqi boy in northern Baghdad May 9, in a continuing effort to provide medical support to the Iraqi people. Elements of 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, were conducting operations near the town of Muhammad al’Abbas when a local woman approached requesting medical aid for her three-year-old son. The boy was involved in a hot water accident which caused second-degree burns on the child’s face and upper body May 7th. The injuries were severe enough for the boy to...

Reports say 12 people have died as a result of tornadoes sweeping through Kansas over the weekend. Here are the names of those identified so far. Each life was special. As we get information about the deceased, we will publish it here. Alexander 'Junior' Giles Giles, 84, was a lifetime resident of Hopewell. He was a farmer/stockman and a veteran of World War II. Giles won the Bronze Star in the Battle of the Bulge. He was a member of the Byers United Methodist Church and former Trustee for Pratt Community College. Giles died at his home after a tornado...

Rep. Patrick Kennedy says he is tackling his prescription drug addiction one day at a time, a year after crashing his car into a Capitol barricade in the middle of the night. In an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press, the 39-year-old son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said he has been more vigilant about reducing stress and reaching out to friends and colleagues for support. "I'm much more aware of the stresses in my life and minimize it where possible and connect with people whenever I do have it, so I have social support systems there when I...

BELLEFONTE, Pa. - Altar boy. Avid runner. Ambitious student. Thomas Herbstritt boasted about grandson Jeremy Herbstritt's life and accomplishments like a typical proud grandparent. But for the 77-year-old grandfather, it was simple acts of kindness that stood out above all the memories of his grandchild, one of the 32 slain in the massacre Monday at Virginia Tech University.

Adults of a certain age will remember what we were told for 25 years about how to behave in an airline hijacking. The training was similar for the aircrews: * Don't draw attention to yourself. * Don't look the bad guys in the eye. * Cooperate. * Don't resist. That approach to passenger safety, passive non-resistance, died along with the passengers on United 93, who sacrificed themselves so that thousands of others might live. Those passengers, armed with the information that they were most likely not to be hostages but were destined for sacrifice on the altar of Evil, rebelled...

Wolfowitz's friend says she's the victim By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer Shaha Riza WASHINGTON - The woman at the heart of the controversy that has embroiled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz says she is a victim and was forced into a job transfer because of their relationship. Shaha Riza's comments are included in new documents released by the World Bank on Friday that also show Wolfowitz had a direct hand in arranging her promotion and generous pay package. Wolfowitz is fighting to retain his job. Riza said that at no time did she report directly to Wolfowitz and that...

Being LGBT Shouldn't Be a Job Hazard Have you been fired or denied a job for being LGBT? Do you know someone who has? The new Congress and some states might be willing to pass landmark protections for LGBT workers. But first, lawmakers must be convinced this is a problem worth fixing. That's where your story can make a difference. We want to hear from LGBT workers from all backgrounds and job skills: from fast food to brain surgery. Tell your story by completing this simple online form: http://www.hrc.org/shareyourstory/share.asp Equality Virginia is partnering with a coalition of national and statewide...

She had gone to Target with her brother and sister-in-law to buy a DVD player for their new house, and had decided to go off on her own. She was looking over women's blouses when a young girl brushed past her. The girl angrily demanded an apology. The woman was taken aback and refused, according to her account, and tried to turn her attention back to the rack of clothes. [snip] Sanchez said some store employees were present when the fight began and didn't try to intervene. "They didn't do nothing, nothing whatsoever," Sanchez said. "The manager didn't respond when...

Motorcyclist Suffers Life-Threatening Injuries TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- The driver of a pickup is accused of leaving the scene of a crash Sunday after colliding with a motorcylist who ended up in the bed of his truck, according to Titusville police. Lewis Spicuzza, 68, of Macon, Ga., was driving a 1994 Chevrolet pickup southbound on Brown Avenue around 3:30 p.m. when he ran a stop sign at Garden Street, pulling into the path of a motorcyclist, police said. The unidentified motorcycle driver struck Lewis' pickup and landed in the back of the truck, according to a police report. Police said Lewis...

Updated: Jan. 25, 2007, 1:11 PM ET Athlete who fled Katrina jailed for making bomb threat Associated Press DENTON, Texas -- A high school basketball star is accused of calling in a bomb threat to the school the night of a game he was missing because of a suspension for fighting. Howard Stirgus, an 18-year-old who came to Denton in 2005 after fleeing New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, was jailed on suspicion of making a false alarm and abusing the 911 system. Authorities said he called Denton High School on Tuesday night, claiming there was a bomb in the building...

A black man who was shown being asked to perform a rap to get out of a littering ticket on a police-produced TV show in Tempe has demanded the city pay him for emotional damage. Louis Baker’s lawyer confirmed Saturday he sent a notice of claim to the city. That letter, sent Thursday afternoon, asked for $500,000 for damage done by the episode of “Tempe StreetBeat,” a show that followed cops on patrol and aired 20 times during November on the city’s cable Channel 11. “He doesn’t have any broken bones,” said lawyer Howard Schwartz. “But he does have an...

Alphonso Jackson, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, says that black leaders like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Julian Bond are doing a disservice to blacks by perpetuating an ideology of victimhood. "They [black leaders] have created an industry," Jackson, who is black, told NewsMax. "If we don't become victims, they have no income. They have no podium." Rather than confronting real issues that face blacks, African-American leaders suggest that "it's racism that's stopping everything that we're doing," Jackson said. "They are in the business of making excuses," he said. "White folks have nothing to...

Rape victim to get daughter back soon By YOLANDA RODRÍGUEZ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 12/09/06 Her little girl is coming home. The Cherokee County woman who killed the man who raped her most likely will be able to take her daughter home with her, probably by next week. First the mother has to complete a psychological evaluation. "They want to make sure I am of no harm to myself or anyone else," the woman said Friday after a hearing in Juvenile Court in Cherokee County. She hopes to celebrate Christmas with family in Ohio. "I'm happy I'm getting my...

A Northern State University student who was found dead last week in Pennsylvania was strangled after rejecting sexual advances from a sales manager for the company he was interning for, authorities have said. Jason Shephard, 23, was found bound by belts and wrapped in sheets in the basement of William F. Smithson's home in Thornbury Township, Pa., according to court documents. The Delaware County Times in Pennsylvania also reported that the basement contained a couch, mirrored ceiling and video equipment. The 40-year-old Smithson, who worked in the Philadelphia office of the Brookings-based Daktronics Inc., was arrested and charged with first-,...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2006 – Iraqi army soldiers freed a man who was being held and tortured by members of an illegal armed group in Diwaniyah, Iraq, during a raid today, U.S. military officials said. The captive had been beaten, tortured and bound. He said he had been held for the past three days. He also stated that the four people abusing him fled just prior to the arrival of Iraqi assault forces. The man was immediately treated by medical personnel and then evacuated, officials said. The four suspects are thought to be members of a group engaged in sectarian...

netWMD is proud to participate in the 2,996: A Tribute to the Victims of 9/11 project. Stuck to the top until Sept. 12. Sareve Dukat kept her composure, even though the United States was under attack by Islamo-fascists, drunk on religion, hatred, and a lust for power. The date was September 11, 2001. An airliner full of civilians was just cynically rammed into tower #1 of the World Trade Center in New York City. Ms. Dukat would not survive the day that has become the defining moment for a generation of Americans, myself included. Dukat, who was working on the...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2006 – Bastogne soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, freed a kidnap victim and captured three of the terrorists who had taken him hostage just outside Kirkuk, Iraq, yesterday, military officials reported. An aerial reconnaissance team flying missions near Kirkuk spotted four men wearing black robes and wielding AK-47 rifles. The men stopped their sedan several times along one of the area’s main roads and set up illegal checkpoints at each stop. As coalition ground forces moved into the area, the group made their last stop, holding 10 passengers in a van at...

MADISON, Wis. - A mother has been charged with helping her 13-year-old son search for someone to rob. The boy told police his mother, Janine C. Lewis, drove him around Stoughton Tuesday night, helping him look for someone to rob, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday in Dane County Circuit Court. The boy told police he had talked to her about committing robberies, but she discouraged him. Still, he said she agreed to drive him around to look for a victim, the complaint said. They found a man at a car wash. She asked him if he really wanted...

Terror raid victim faces arrest over child porn images By John Steele, Crime Correspondent (Filed: 31/07/2006) A man shot in an anti-terrorist raid faces questioning over the alleged discovery of child pornography images on a computer seized by police. Mohammed Abul Kahar, 23, was wounded when police officers looking for a chemical bomb entered his home in Forest Gate, east London. It is believed that he could be arrested this week. He is expected to be asked about what are said to be "extremely disturbing" images of children. The move follows forensic tests on the computer. The Crown Prosecution Service...

ONCE AGAIN we have a full-grown woman — in this case, a 19-year-old from Long Island — claiming to be the innocent victim in a high-profile extramarital affair. When are women going to learn, I found myself thinking as I watched Diana Bianchi toss her beautiful locks and confess to one of those pushy and obsequiously empathetic TV news reporters that she had stumbled into an affair with her employer, one Peter Cook, a.k.a. Mr. Christie Brinkley. “I didn’t expect him to take it to another level,” she said, with a strangled giggle. “It” being a flirtation. “Another level” being...

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2006 – Iraqi police freed a kidnap victim in Baghdad, and coalition forces uncovered a large cache of bomb-making material near Mahmudiyah, Iraq, July 10, U.S. military officials reported. Iraqi policemen from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st National Police Division, arrested seven men at a checkpoint and freed an alleged kidnap victim in eastern Baghdad after the men tried to bypass checkpoints in four vehicles. The police stopped them with small-arms fire and a roadblock, officials said. "This shows the effectiveness of the Iraqi national police and their ability to enforce the rule of law," said Army...

19 year old Tommy Canavan, who was a student at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, came to Dalton with some friends to go bowling. His family has now made arrangements for his funeral. Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood said just after 10:00 p.m. Friday night, Canavan and three friends pulled into the parking lot of Galaxy Bowling at 2208 Cleveland Highway. Seconds later the chemistry student who had plans to become a pharmacist was shot in the chest.

LRA victim: 'I cannot forget and forgive' Following recent comments from Lord's Resistance Army rebel leader Joseph Kony in which he denied committing atrocities, Ugandan Ochola John, 25, responds by telling his story. He was abducted by rebels from his village, Namkora in northern Uganda, which was attacked in February 2002. During the attack 50 people were axed to death and he was one of 35 abductees. Ochola John was deformed by rebels from Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army I wish I could be born again. It hurts me to see my reflection because of the way I now look....

Today: June 19, 2006 at 8:16:34 PDT Top Court: Victims' Statements Admissible By TONI LOCY ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - Prosecutors can use statements made by victims to 911 operators or police during emergencies if the victims do not testify at trial, the Supreme Court ruled in a pair of cases Monday. In a case out of Washington state, justices voted 9-0 that a defendant's right to confront his accuser was not violated because he could not cross-examine a woman who claimed in a 911 call that he had assaulted her. By an 8-1 vote in a second case, the...

Usually stabbing victims take the fact that they've been stabbed pretty seriously. But when Morgan Hill resident Enrique Hernandez was stabbed in the hip with a sharp kitchen knife late Sunday, he left the knife in his leg and strolled on home -- three blocks from the scene of the crime. When he got home, he pulled the knife out, wrapped it in a T-shirt and washed up a bit. Then he went out drinking and dancing at the Pato Loco Bar in San Martin. It wasn't until another patron, increasingly alarmed by the blood stains on Hernandez's pants, contacted...

Duke Case Victim Target of Hateby Cash Michaels Special to the NNPA from the Wilmington Journal Thanks to unrelenting attacks on her character and credibility by defense attorneys, the alleged victim in the Duke lacrosse rape case is now the target of hate by many who believe the Black woman is a “false accuser” of three indicted white players. Looming doubts about the evidence in the minds of some of the public have generated hateful portrayals of the alleged victim in media reports, and particularly on the Internet. Several Web sites have revealed her name (something media organizations voluntarily do...

/begin my translationN. Korea: Huge Train Crash in Last April due to Communication Failure A N. Korean railroad source, "270 soldiers, 400 civilians dead" [2006-06-05 17:46] The crash site in a red circle above. The light brown region is Gowon County. It is revealed that the huge train crash in last April at Gowon, S. Hamkyong Province, killing hundreds of N. Korean soldiers, was caused by endemic problems of N. Korean railroad system such as communication failure and shortage of electricity. We were told that 270 soldiers and 400 civilians were killed by this accident. A source from the Locomotive Unit...

Last update - 05:46 13/05/2006 Tel Aviv bombing victim dies of his wounds at Ichilov Hospital By Ran Reznick, Amos Harel and Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondents and Haaretz Service A 26-year-old Tel Aviv resident who was critically injured in last month's suicide bombing near the Central Bus Station succumbed to his wounds before dawn Saturday at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Army Radio reported. The victim, Lior Anidor, represents the 10th fatality in the attacks. David Shaulov, 29, of Holon; Philip Balasan, 45, of Ashdod; Benjamin Haputa, 47, of Lod; Victor Erez, a 60-year-old taxi driver from Tel Aviv; Lily...

By Ray Gronberg : The Herald-Sun gronberg@heraldsun.com May 9, 2006 : 10:53 pm ET DURHAM -- A March 14 Duke Police Department report that downplayed gang-rape allegations against the school's lacrosse team stemmed from what a Duke officer overheard while listening to a Durham Police Department sergeant's cell phone conversation, City Manager Patrick Baker said Tuesday. The Duke officer, Christopher Day, never actually spoke to the sergeant or conducted any follow-up inquiry before telling his superiors that the woman at the center of the case had changed her story several times, and that her allegations were unlikely to produce serious...