Free Republic

The American Federation of Teachers and six other organizations are hosting a conference at Georgetown University this weekend entitled “In Defense of the Public Square.” “As attacks on the public sector and its workers increase, economic inequality widens and an avalanche of money in the political system undermines fairness, the ideal of a public square is itself under assault,” a press release the union sent to The Daily Caller explained.

FORT HUACHUCA — Following the issuance of new orders pertaining to access to Army installations last year, Fort Huachuca officials are preparing to implement a new series of criteria that will affect a majority of people wanting to go onto the post. Beginning Aug. 3, visitors, contractors and anyone else 18 years old or older who want access to Fort Huachuca and do not already have a Department of Defense identification card will be subject to a background check before being allowed access to the post. Military retirees, military family members, Gold Star ID holders and those with a Common...

If You Ever Leave Me, I’m Going With You! A Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn this Easter Season, we continue to reflect on how the risen Lord Jesus ministers to us and supplies our needs. Last week we considered him as our shepherd. This week we learn how He is the vine and we the branches on the vine, wholly dependent on Him for everything. As we consider how he cares for us as his disciples, we need to rescue the word “care” from its rather sentimental modern sense. True care does not...

The man at the microphone spoke in a language most Republican presidential primary voters do not understand. "You are part of the new wave of hope for this country," Jeb Bush said in fluent Spanish to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference this week. Switching to English, he said the U.S. needs immigrants for the country "to become young and dynamic again." It doesn't seem to matter that Hispanic voters typically do not have much say in Republican primaries. The former Florida governor's play to Hispanic values and policy goals has begun to shape his young political operation. Well before...

Brethren, Peace be with you. Back in 2011 I wrote Do We Need to Use a Different Word for Marriage in the Church? and, Should Catholic Clergy Cease Signing Civil “Marriage” Licenses? I say Aye!, in which I supported the idea of getting the Church out of the business of issuing marriage licenses, an idea originally put forward by Monsignor Charles Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. Today, Father (Protopresbyter) John Whiteford, an Orthodox priest from Houston, TX formulated on his blog a slightly different proposal which has the state, not the churches, get out of the business of licensing...

Report: Robots replacing human workers at faster pace Robots aren't just for corporate Goliaths -- now even the little guy on Main Street is adopting them. The goal: to boost sales and productivity. But at what cost? Take Sam Kraus, a Hungarian immigrant who founded what became Skyline Windows in 1921. In the early days, the tinsmith traveled around with a small cart to do his roofing and waterproofing work by hand. Fast-forward to today, and the fourth-generation business based in New York City's South Bronx has left the pushcart era far behind. Skyline, which has evolved into a custom...

Insurance lady asked me what kind of dog do I have.... I said half red heeler half lab and she is a good dog. She asked me how big she was (she is 80 lbs, but I said none of your business) I am getting upset at this point. I told her that if ever Ki was to get out of control that I would 'fix' it. I am not above certain things. I just don't like noses being stuck up my ass. I live on the family ranch and I have to have big dogs. This is just pissing...

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake offered up regrets on “Meet The Press” Sunday for saying space was given to protesters in Baltimore who “wished to destroy.” Rawlings-Blake told host Chuck Todd that she “certainly used the wrong phrase,” of which she received roundabout criticism as the riots escalated Monday.

Tim Chambers of Vista is famous for 5-hour frozen tribute to vets on Memorial Day weekend VISTA, Calif. — Every year on Memorial Day weekend, more than 800,000 motorcyclists rumble through the streets of Washington, D.C., in a display of respect for war dead and military veterans known as Rolling Thunder. And standing at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street to acknowledge each and every rider is “The Saluting Marine.” Veteran Marine Staff Sergeant Tim Chambers of Vista started his silent vigil on a whim in 2002. Today, he considers the annual effort both his civic duty...

--SNIP-- "The Lord of the Flies" was a novel written in 1954 by the English author William Golding. It describes what happens to a group of upper-class English schoolboys when their plane crash-lands on a deserted island and all the adults are killed. The kids try to build a society of their own, but with no adult guidance, they descend into tribalism and savagery.

Meanwhile, Avengers: Age of Ultron debuted in 44 international markets and earned a stunning $201.2 million. In nearly all of those markets, it opened above The Avengers and Iron Man 3.

State prosecutor Marilyn Mosby bears a heavy burden in prosecuting six Baltimore police officers for the death of Freddie Gray. The activist sweep of her announcement could complicate the task. A questionable arrest, a moment of lost humanity, and actions of a "depraved heart" – those ideas are at the center of the legal case against six Baltimore police officers whose actions on April 12, the state alleges, led to the “homicide” of Freddie Gray, whose death roiled Baltimore and intensified anti-police brutality protests nationwide. “To the youth of this city, I will seek justice on your behalf," Baltimore state...

Americans are bracing for a summer of racial disturbances around the country, such as those that have wracked Baltimore, with African Americans and whites deeply divided about why the urban violence has occurred, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found. A resounding 96% of adults surveyed said it was likely there would be additional racial disturbances this summer, a signal that Americans believe Baltimore’s recent problems aren’t a local phenomenon but instead are symptomatic of broader national problems. When asked to explain recent events in Baltimore and other cities that have seen confrontations between police and members of...

At around 3 p.m., dispatchers received multiple calls about a man breaking windows at the courthouse, according to a post on the Alhambra Police Department’s Facebook page. The court is located at 150 W. Commonwealth Ave. right across from a police station. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man with bloody lacerations to his arms. He was detained and told police he was upset about a pending case in court, the post stated. ... A total of 27 window panes were found to have been broken, according to police.

MERIWETHER COUNTY, Ga. -A Meriwether County high school principal claims he was fired after he prayed with a group of students during a volunteer Christian meeting. Dr. Michael Lehr said he just wants the facts to come out and that he's relying on his faith to get him through this. News Radio 106.7's Nathalie Pozo spoke with several students and parents who are outraged this happened to what they call a kind, dedicated, well respected man. Now, the community is rallying behind him. “It is breaking our hearts its breaking our hearts… because it is not supposed to be like...

Political debates often pit fear against hope, and when it comes to international trade agreements, many Democrats prefer to scare. It's a durable strategy that they can't relinquish -- even though it usually fails. If you're going to make a horror movie, you need a villain who can make your blood run cold. Despite endless efforts to pump this one up, the audience mostly yawns. Americans have gotten too used to the obvious benefits of trade to be terrified by German cars, Canadian oil or Chinese toys. The Obama administration is currently negotiating with 11 other nations on a Trans-Pacific...

U. S. Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont “independent” who caucuses with the Democrats and calls himself a “democratic socialist,” announced this week that he is seeking the Democratic Socialist Party’s nomination — er, I mean the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. One of the Vermonter’s most visceral claims to left-wing fame is his maintenance of a more ferocious hatred of the billionaire Koch brothers, David and his elder brother Charles, than any other progressive on the planet.Sanders is kompletely, krazily Koch-phobic. Back in 2013, when the scandal broke of veterans dying due to a lack of care from the VA,...

During a Baltimore-based radio talk show on Thursday, a man who identified himself as a Baltimore police officer named “Jeff” called into the program and said fellow police officers were organizing to push out the city’s mayor. “There is right now over 50 of us officers who are immediately asking for [Baltimore Mayor] Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to step down for what she did to us Monday,” the caller told WBAL radio host Derek Hunter. The Baltimore mayor has denied giving “stand down” orders and blamed the media for misinterpreting her comments about providing “a space” for protesters to loot. “Any other...

BALTIMORE (WJZ)– Protesters rallying Saturday say they are gathering to celebrate peace and stand up against police brutality. Even some unlikely groups are joining forces in Baltimore to rally for justice, sparked by the police-custody death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. WJZ’s Marcus Washington was able to meet and speak with gang members of the Bloods and Crips together. “United is key. You’ve got to be a collective whole to try to sit there and make something happen. Just one can’t do it. Us being together is a better outlook in the whole situation,” one member said, wearing an “I Bleed...

A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck the Los Angeles area early Sunday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake hit about 1 mile from Baldwin Hills at 4:07 a.m. local time, according to the USGS. It was felt throughout the LA area, in nearby Culver City and from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach.