Free Republic

<p>Mark Witaschek, a successful financial adviser with no criminal record, is facing two years in prison for possession of unregistered ammunition after D.C. police raided his house looking for guns. Mr. Witaschek has never had a firearm in the city, but he is being prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The trial starts on Nov. 4.</p>

In June 2013, the DC City Council passed legislation requiring carriers to sell all individual and small group products through DC Health Link, effectively dissolving the non-Marketplace individual and small group markets. Individual plans may only be offered through the Marketplace beginning on January 1, 2014, while small group plans have until January 1, 2015 to transition to DC Health Link.6 In addition, the SHOP and individual markets will be merged into a single risk pool.7

"If a dry run is occurring, the attack will shortly follow." That's according to Wolf Koch, a Boeing 767 pilot for Delta Airlines and an official at the Air Line Pilots Association International, who was discussing common terrorist tactics in the run-up to devastating attacks like those on 9/11. That is an extremely worrying thought given a memo leaked this week from the U.S. Airline Pilots Association, which warns of "several cases recently…of what appear to be probes, or dry runs" of such attacks.

Nothing seems to have angered the public quite so much as the Obama administration's needless closure of our national war monuments and the forcible denial of access to those sites to the warriors whom they were erected to honor. In an absolutely shameful move, the administration has selected for particular abuse those who have given the most to preserve the democratic survival of this nation. The outrage this churlishness has provoked is so widespread and deep that even Democrats should realize it as petty spitefulness coming from a petulant president and counterproductive to their cause. Sadly, none has thus far...

a man who set himself on fire at the National Mall in the nations capital has died from his injuries, District of Columbia police said Saturday.

In shutting down the government, members of Congress have turned their own U.S. Capitol complex into a ghost town running on a skeleton crew. There aren't any tourists milling through the Capitol rotunda. Fewer police officers are working, so many entrances are closed. Up to two-thirds of each office's staff is at home, forced to shut off their BlackBerries. And many of the usual comforts of a lawmaker's day job have vanished.

Metro Radio LLC is pulling the plug on Conservative Talk on 730 WTNT Alexandria VA/Washington DC, 97.7 W249BE Alexandria and 102.9 W275BO Chantilly, VA. Metro has registered SomosLaCapital.com for the stations and has already updated its webstreams to use the new moniker. The new website describes the new format as “La Capital features a Spanish Hits Music format targeting Hispanics 24-50 years old, local talk shows, music shows, and many other issue shows that address the culture in Washington, DC.” WTNT currently programs a mix of brokered and syndicated Conservative Talk shows such as Coast To Coast AM, Laura Ingaraham,...

Paraphrasing: "Alexis was a liberal. He was not happy at all with the former administration and was upset about it [Bush]. I on the other hand am Conservative and we agreed to disagree on politics. He was very much for this [Obama] Administration and was very gung-ho for his agenda."

The “2 Million Bikers to D.C.” rally, which likely will be closer to two thousand, will bring a deputation of bikers into Washington today who plan to pay their respects to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. Originally denied a permit, D.C. police have now granted permission for the biker’s ride, reports UPI on Sept. 11.Social media was abuzz with outrage that these patriotic riders were denied a permit. The 2 Million Bikers to D.C. requested permission to have a police escort, with no-stop authority granted at red lights and intersections.Police have now said the ride is...

The ride is on. As Twitchy reported yesterday, organizers of the 9/11 2 Million Bikers to D.C. march are moving forward despite reportedly being denied an event permit. Riders across the country are tweeting that their kickstands are up and their motors are revving up. Safe travels to all. SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!! @kinsman59: Iron Horses on the move for America… http://t.co/9CoUBGVMIO 2MBIKERS #tcot #Syria— Prudence (@dennygirltwo) September 09, 2013 Only 30 hours til #kickstands up in #Louisville!! #2MillionBikersToDC @michellemalkin @HDWashington #patriots  http://t.co/WWXHaX75ws— JODI RAYBORN (@RaybornsWifey) September 09, 2013 groups are already on their way. American soil is feeling vibrations of patriots...

Whether it's their problems with "taxation without representation" or the flood of foreign diplomats weaving around town, drivers in the nation's capital are the most likely to get into a car accident, according to a new report from Allstate. The insurance company's annual study on safe drivers, now in its ninth year, looked at property-damage claims in 194 cities from January 2010 through December 2011 and compared them to the national average. In Washington, D.C., drivers were 109 percent more likely to get into a crash, while the D.C. suburbs of Alexandria and Arlington, Va. – along with Baltimore, Providence,...

The National Zoo's Giant Panda gave birth to a cub, the zoo said on Friday

Workmen transporting a house next to the White House. (President Calvin Coolidge apparently had no concern about this.)

A Biker Ride is scheduled to counter-protest the "Million Muslim March" on 09/11 in Washington DC. See https://www.facebook.com/events/588094987901164/?ref=3 for details.  This is an open group so you don't need a Facebook account to view it. Note that the group has numerous hostile posts by muslims. Recent news articles such as the one at USNews.com state that the "Million Muslim March" has been re-named to "Million American March Against Fear".  However, I'm sure we all know about "Taqiyya", the allowed, deliberate lying and misleading by muslims to non-muslims (and even other muslims under certain circumstances).The march is all about islamic power...

US AMBASSADOR to Australia John Berry has married his long-term partner of 17 years in a private same-sex ceremony in Washington D.C. The 54-year-old former head of the Office of Personnel Management - which oversees the US public service - is the first openly gay US ambassador to serve in a Group of 20 nation and the highest ranking openly gay man in United States history. In a short statement, Mr Berry confirmed the nuptials, telling news.com.au, "John Berry and Curtis Yee, partners of 17 years, were formally married on Saturday August 10, at St Margaret's Episcopal Church in Washington...

Five D.C. Council members will decide whether Marion Barry should be dealt sanctions in addition to a fine he was issued as punishment for accepting gifts from city contractors. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson on Friday appointed an ad hoc committee that will investigate Mr. Barry’s actions. The committee is comprised of council members Yvette M. Alexander, Ward 7 Democrat; Anita Bonds, at-large Democrat; Mary M. Cheh, Ward 3 Democrat; David Grosso, at-large independent, and its chairman is Kenyan McDuffie, Ward 5 Democrat. The District’s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability on Thursday censured Mr. Barry and imposed a $13,600 penalty...

Leadership: If Washington, D.C.'s local politicians have their way, three new Wal-Marts planned for the troubled city will not be built. Oh boy! Just what the capital's struggling residents need: fewer jobs and higher prices. ngaclThe extraordinarily unwise politicians who run the nation's capital have decided to pass a law that would require so-called "big box" retailers — Wal-Mart, in other words — to pay their workers a "living wage" of at least $12.50 an hour. Wal-Mart employees nationwide average just under $9 an hour. Wal-Mart is already building three stores in D.C., and has plans for three more. But...

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, whose immigration reform proposal would grant far-reaching powers to the secretary of Homeland Security and other top administration officials, says he does not trust Washington to make critical decisions about the nation’s future. Rubio made the comment Wednesday during a debate on the budget and the debt limit. He opposes including an increase in the debt limit in the new budget and wants to make sure that no increase comes out of a House-Senate conference committee. The problem, Rubio said in an impassioned floor speech, is that there has been in the past a bipartisan consensus...

Marion Barry, best known as the mayor who starred in an FBI surveillance video smoking crack, recently updated his extensive criminal resume by accepting a gift from a “prohibited source” that does significant business with the District of Columbia’s government. Barry has for years been a fixture on the D.C. Council and currently represents Ward 8, a predominantly black and notoriously crime-infested area. He served four terms as mayor before getting convicted on drug charges and serving jail time. He’s also pleaded guilty in federal court for failing to pay city and federal taxes and got in trouble for stalking...

People in the area reported a man driving erratically and yelling from a black Honda Civic with signs and stickers -- some referencing Sept. 11, 2001 -- about 3 p.m. Monday, News4’s Jackie Bensen reported. One sign read "Death to Capitalism," bicyclist Jen House told News4...... Several of what appear to be gas cans and propane canisters are visible inside the car, which prompted police to close several streets in the area and evacuate Ross Elementary School and an apartment building as a precaution, Bensen reported.