Free Republic

WILKES-BARRE - Luzerne Sheriff Michael A. Savokinas abruptly resigned Tuesday afternoon, ending a 20-month stint in office that often was plagued by controversy and clashes with other county officials. "At this time, my presence seems to be a distraction for my already over-worked staff," Savokinas wrote in a three-page resignation letter to Gov. Ed Rendell. Savokinas, 36, complained about a "witch hunt" and smear campaign "orchestrated by county officials" to drag his "reputation through the mud," and claimed drugs found in his vehicle "were planted as a possible political vendetta." Savokinas added he "can no longer do justice to my...

The Quick 10: 10 Secret Menu Itemsby Stacy Conradt - August 31, 2009 - 3:26 PM _Flossers: Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to seek out covert items at fast food chains around the country. Be warned, this mission includes very real dangers such as hardening arteries and skyrocketing cholesterol. But we know you won’t let us down. We’ve compiled a list to get you started. 1. In-N-Out Burger’s “secret menu” isn’t so secret these days – in fact, they’ve posted it on their website. But in case you’re not in the habit of surfing fast...

A Rwandan former pastor has gone on trial in Finland charged with genocide over the masscre of 5,000 Tutsis in his home country in 1994. Francois Bazaramba, a Hutu, is accused of planning and carrying out the killings. Many of the dead were women and children. He is also accused of murdering 15 people. The 58-year-old, who will face a life sentence if found guilty, has denied all the charges. Kimmo Nuotio, a professor of criminal law at the University of Helsinki, said on Tuesday: "This is something for which there was no alternative. The Nordic countries have been promoting...

A mortgage-industry trade group is calling for Congress to transform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into several smaller privately held companies that would issue mortgage securities carrying an explicit government guarantee. Some foreign investors in China and elsewhere lost confidence in that fuzzy implied guarantee last year and reduced their holdings of the companies' debt, though the U.S. government has propped up Fannie and Freddie with capital infusions. "If we're going to restore and maintain investor confidence and...consistent liquidity, that is going to require an explicit backstop," said John Courson, chief executive and president of the MBA. Shares of both...

Monday August 31, 2009 Priest: Imagine the Funeral if Kennedy was an Anti-Semite Rather Than Pro-Abortion The following is adapted from an email from U.S. priest, Fr. Brian Harrison , O.S. from the Oblates of Wisdom Study Center, St. Louis, Missouri written on August 29, following the funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy.August 31, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As a Roman Catholic priest, I feel a duty in conscience today to register my emphatic dissent from a message that was projected around the nation and the globe this morning to millions of viewers and listeners by certain other members of the Roman...

The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He drove the enemy before you and thrust them out, saying, Destroy! (Deuteronomy 33:27)

John Paul Stevens has the longest tenure on the Supreme Court and is not coincidentally its oldest member at 89. Speculation arises every year about his potential retirement, but until now, Stevens has seemed indefatigable — or perhaps concerned about retiring with a more conservative President in place to nominate his replacement. However, Stevens no longer has that worry, and the small number of clerks he has hired this summer for the next session indicates that retirement will come soon: Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has hired fewer law clerks than usual, generating speculation that the leader of the...

Just recieved this e-mail, is this legit? WAKE UP CALL Senate Bill SB-2099 will require=us to put on our 2009 1040 federal tax form all guns that you have or=own. It may require fingerprints and a tax of $50 per gun. | This bill was introduced on Feb.. 24. This bill will=become public knowledge 30 days after it is voted into law. This is an=amendment to the Internal Revenue Act of 1986. This means that the Finance Committee can pass this without the Senate voting on it at all. | The full text of th= proposed amendment is on the...

Chrysler seeks a new ad agency to convince Americans to buy cars from a company that… 1) is bankrupt 2) has stale inventory 3) is semi-nationalized. Chrysler “has grown dissatisfied with the agency’s creative output, according to a person familiar with the matter.” “As we launch a new company with a brand-focused organization, we are looking for fresh ways to communicate in the marketplace,” Chrysler said in a statement. “As a result, we are currently soliciting creative input... They asked for it, so... here are the top 25 new slogans for Chrysler....

Veteran American singer Alice Cooper's concert scheduled for Tampere in December has been shifted to Espoo because of concerns over his shock-rock image. Tampere Arena, which was to have hosted the December 11 show, cancelled it because a perceived conflict with the venue's "Christian-based policies". "The [Lutheran-based charismatic revivalist] group Nokia Mission and others use Tampere Arena for their events, so the venue's management did not want Alice Cooper appearing in the same hall. The contract which we received from Tampere Arena specifies that no artists may perform there who 'incite evil and the power of darkness'," promoter Kalle Keskinen...

David Weigel, a reporter for the liberal Washington Independent news site, wrote an article this morning with the laughable claim that liberal sites like the Daily Kos do not trade in conspiracy theories.Weigel wrote about Joseph Farah responding to a call from a conservative blog for conservatives to boycott World Net Daily.Weigel, who is a decent reporter when he doesn't let his inner moonbat write his articles, served up this whopper to conclude his piece: Conservatives differ from liberals* in that their Web 1.0 sites like WND and FreeRepublic survived and kept their readers in the George W. Bush era,...

The shameless phenomenon of Western leftist feminists abandoning millions of persecuted Muslim women under Islamic gender apartheid continues. Naomi Wolf has now come forward to say that she finds the Islamic chador sexy and supports its institutionalization throughout the Islamic world. Never mind that Muslim women in most cases do not have a choice of whether or not to cover themselves, and face bodily harm and death if they do not veil. How much, one wonders, does Wolf care about Aqsa Parvez, a 16-year-old Muslim girl who was murdered by her father for refusing to wear the veil? Does...

NAPLES, Fla. — So, a man and a woman walk into a strip-mall restaurant packed full of retirees, and start mouthing off about sagging breasts, lost dentures and how everyone there is standing at death's door. What's the punchline? Rick Compton and Betsy Bennett implore you to find out with "Assisted Living: The Musical." The singer-songwriter duo dares to poke fun at the aged in ways often off-limits on stage and screen — and audiences are laughing so hard they cry... ...the topics include elderly romance, senior driving and Viagra. Among the song titles: "Help! I've Fallen for You and...

We are Employers for Quality Health Care, a coalition of 20 statewide chambers and employer organizations representing thousands of employers across America, from family-owned businesses to Fortune 500s. Our members are the financial bedrock of the nation's health care system, voluntarily providing coverage for millions of workers and their families. We continue to offer these benefits in the face of record cost increases because we know that access to care is vital to the health of our employees and our communities. We share your goal of reducing costs, improving quality and extending coverage to more Americans -- and we support...

TVNewser has learned ABC News will announce today that Charlie Gibson will leave "World News" in January and that Diane Sawyer will be named the new anchor of the network's evening newscast. Gibson has been the anchor of "World News" since May 2006, after the pairing of Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff was broken up when Woodruff was seriously wounded in an IED attack in Iraq. Woodruff and Vargas were named co-anchors of the program in Dec. 2005 after the death of longtime anchor Peter Jennings. DEVELOPING > More: ABC News tells us Gibson is announcing his retirement from ABC...

OBAMAVILLE Gett’n a head fake, watchin' msn’s take; All of their punts oozing foul oil. Clean’n my six gun on my front porch swing. Felling my blood-- It’s beginnin' to boil. Wasted away again in Obamaville, Searchin' for a job so I can earn my salt. Some people claim that Bush is to blame, But I know it's Obama’s fault. There’s no rime or reason, They are all commitin’ treason With nothing to show but a brand new tax or two. But they are real beauties, Despotic duties, how they got passed I haven't a clue. Wasted away again in...

Here is video of a new ad by Defeat the Debt.com which shows children saying a "Pledge" to "America's Debt and to the Chinese Government that lends us money." The ad highlights the growing problem of America's debt for generations to come. . . . . (Watch Video)

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn. (PBUH), sat down for dinner at the White House Tuesday night and got a personal shout-out from President Obama. Ellison was attending a dinner commemorating Ramadan, along with other members of Congress, the Cabinet and dozens of members of the diplomatic corps. At the top of his remarks to his guests, Obama singled out Ellison and Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., as "the first two Muslims to serve in Congress." Ellison had the distinction of being the first, when he was elected in 2006, and gained worldwide media coverage. Carson became the second when he was...

Ben and Jerry's renames ice cream Hubby Hubby in celebration of gay marriage Ben and Jerry's has changed the name of one of its best-selling ice creams to Hubby Hubby, in celebration of the legalisation of gay marriage in its home state of Vermont.