Free Republic

(AP Photo/El Monte Police Department) It all started out with a kick to the head. True, the suspect was not exactly one to elicit sympathy, but that's not the point. A free society cannot tolerate police acting outside the law to administer physical punishment. Except Dean Scoville, "Associate Editor of Police Magazine and a retired patrol supervisor and investigator with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department," disagrees with that: There was a time when post pursuit ass-kickings were obligatory. Cops knew it, suspects knew it, and there are enough old timers on both sides of the fence that will verify the...

Here is audio of Sen. Jon Kyl yesterday on the Bill Bennett Radio Show saying he believes President Obama on his trip to Russia was more concerned with making a deal than he was concerned about protecting the United States. Kyl believes Obama is willing to lower our stockpile of nuclear weapons to levels that will put the nation in danger. . . . . (Hear Audio)

The more that the American public learns that Sonia Sotomayor may supports unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy if she is confirmed for the Supreme Court, the more they oppose her nomination. A new Rasmussen Report poll finds a plurality now oppose the Senate confirming her. The finding comes as more information is revealed about her involvement with a pro-abortion Hispanic group that filed numerous legal briefs promoting unlimited abortions. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey find a small 37 percent believe Sotomayor should be confirmed while a larger 39 percent say she should not. The rest of those polled are...

It is a back country wanderer’s worst nightmare; arriving at a remote trailhead to find yourself accosted by two growling, snarling off-leash dogs, and then their owner, who threatens to kill you for having taken action to deter the approaching canines. That’s what retired Arizona teacher Harold Fish told investigators in May 2004 at the end of a dayhike in the Coconino National Forest that put him in a deadly confrontation with a man named Grant Kuenzli. Fish said he yelled a warning to Kuenzli to call off the dogs—a warning apparently ignored—then drew his 10mm Kimber semiautomatic pistol and...

Muslim states 'silent' on Uighurs A leading Uighur rights activist has criticised Muslim-majority countries for not speaking out against decades of alleged repression and persecution from the Chinese government. Speaking in Washington on Monday, Rebiya Kadeer, a businesswoman who was jailed for years in China before being released into exile in the US, hit out at what she said was decades of "brutal suppression" of Muslims in China's western Xinjiang region. Speaking after a day of unrest in Xinjiang left at least 150 people dead, Kadeer pointed to the lack of response from Muslim countries to the violence and the...

WASHINGTON -- CIA Director Leon Panetta told Congress last month that senior CIA officials have concealed significant actions and misled lawmakers repeatedly since 2001, the chairman and other members of the House Intelligence Committee said in letters revealed Wednesday. Seven Democratic members of the Intelligence Committee wrote to Panetta in late June and asked him to "publicly correct" his May 15 statement that it is not the "policy or practice of the agency to mislead Congress," a copy of the letter obtained by FOX News shows. FOX News has confirmed that the letter stems from testimony Panetta gave behind closed...

...The reason why Palin appeals so deeply to so many "middle Americans" in the "flyover country" is of course the same reason she is so profoundly detested by the pointy-heads of the coastal elites. In words, in deeds, and in electrical resonance, she expresses the life-wish of the former, and exposes the death-wish of the latter. And at the moment when the American electorate had resolved upon the Obama adventure, she presented herself as the iconic anti-Obama. To say the American people are currently divided is to deliver oneself of a droll understatement. The "tea parties" and other populist manifestations,...

In an astonishing admission, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she was under the impression that legalizing abortion with the 1973 Roe. v. Wade case would eliminate undesirable members of the populace, or as she put it "populations that we don't want to have too many of." Question: Are you talking about the distances women have to travel because in parts of the country, abortion is essentially unavailable, because there are so few doctors and clinics that do the procedure? And also, the lack of Medicaid for abortions for poor women? Ginsburg: Yes, the ruling about that surprised...

Here is video of Sen. Kit Bond on a phone call with reporters yesterday, where he likened President Obama's trip to Russia and his dealmaking with Putin and Medvedev to a "manure pile." . . . . (Hear Audio)

Mineola, NY – June 17, 2009 – An important new ruling from a New York intermediate appellate court found that the fundamental right to possess a handgun applies in New York. On this point, the court relied on the decision in Chwick v. Mulvey, the lawsuit that challenged Nassau County’s ban on the possession of handguns mislabeled as “deceptively colored.” People v. Perkins, a decision of the Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department, cites Chwick for the proposition that the United States Supreme Court’s Heller decision, which held that the right to possess a handgun is a fundamental right, applies...

Say Continually Today's Scripture "Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, ´Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant´" (Psalm 35:27, NKJ). Today's Word from Joel and Victoria What are you saying continually? Do you go around talking about how bad things are in the economy and how tough your job is, or do you declare, "Let the Lord be magnified Who takes pleasure in my prosperity?" I believe one reason that we are supposed to say this "continually" is so that...

Morning Devotional for July 9 "Forget not all His benefits." - Psalm 103:2 It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints, and to observe his goodness in delivering them, his mercy in pardoning them, and his faithfulness in keeping his covenant with them. But would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of his goodness and of...

Under pressure to spend stimulus money quickly, many states are using the federal funds for short-term projects and to fill budget gaps rather than spending on long-term improvements, according to a report by congressional investigators. The report, scheduled to be released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) at a House oversight hearing, also says many states aren’t meeting some goals and requirements of the economic recovery program. Some states, for example, are not sending transportation funding to the most economically distressed areas, and they are using education funds to prevent layoffs rather than fund innovative new programs, the report...

Billions of dollars in federal aid delivered directly to the local level to help revive the economy have gone overwhelmingly to places that supported President Obama in last year’s presidential election. That aid — about $17 billion — is the first piece of the administration’s massive stimulus package that can be tracked locally. Much of it has followed a well-worn path to places that regularly collect a bigger share of federal grants and contracts, guided by formulas that have been in place for decades and leave little room for manipulation.

WASHINGTON -- A few weeks back, at the dawn of the Obama administration, I was at dinner with a very bright woman of middle years who calls herself an independent. She found the new president very engaging, but she was alarmed by the music in the air: a government takeover of Detroit, a $700 billion government bailout of the banks, a $787 billion stimulus bill, a cap and trade bill that would add perhaps $800-$2,000 to every family's tax bill, and a massive health care reform now estimated to cost $1 trillion over the next decade. For the past 30...

A homeowner shot a man outside his home with a shotgun early today. Police were investigating whether the gunman was responsible for a shooting that occurred one block away moments earlier. The incident began about 4:30 a.m. when a caller told police someone was firing a shotgun into an apartment in the 500 block of Gillis Street. The apartment was occupied, but no one was hit. Officers responding to the call encountered a man in a truck who had suffered a minor wound, possibly from a shotgun pellet. Moments later, police received another call from a man who heard a...

Will You Examine Yourself? "Joshua said to the people, ’You cannot serve the Lord . . .’ " —Joshua 24:19 Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances? Are you relying on yourself in any manner whatsoever regarding this new proposal or plan which God has placed before you? Will you examine yourself by asking these probing questions? It really is true to say, "I cannot live a holy life," but you can...

The Frederick Police Department is looking for a man who invaded a home at 207 S. Jefferson St. early this morning, according to police. Officers went to the scene about 2:49 a.m. after shots were reportedly fired, police stated. A white man with dark hair, believed to be named Kevin, had forced his way into the home, police said. The man allegedly took money from a resident, who fired two shots at the man, Lt. Clark Pennington, police spokesman, said. Police do not believe the man was injured. Witnesses said the man was wearing shorts and a dark shirt, Pennington...

Inside-the-Beltway folks are having a field day analyzing the motives of Gov. Sarah Palin. Conservatives and liberals alike seem mystified. I am reminded of the story told about Talleyrand, the nineteenth century French foreign minister. He was on his way to a Paris meeting with the Russian foreign minister when the Russian collapsed in his carriage and died. When informed of the Russian’s sudden death, the wily Talleyrand stroked his chin thoughtfully and said: “I wonder why he did that!” I’ll bet you didn’t know that Paris even had a Beltway. One thing that surely contributed to Gov. Palin’s decision...

(AP) — WASHINGTON - The face of homelessness in the United States is changing to include more families and more people who live in the suburbs and rural communities.