Free Republic

A report from the Maryland Citizens Defense League (MCDL) describes that state as having the safest working conditions in the United States for professional and amateur robbers alike. As we've reported in the past, Maryland's continued assault on legal gun owners make it one of the most gun-unfriendly states in the nation. While that's a harsh burden to the state's law-abiding citizens, criminals are tickled pink - once again proving the more guns, less crime theory. The most recent FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) for 1999, released last fall, show Maryland has the highest robbery rate in America for the ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor John Cusack could be joined in the White House by his sister Joan if a political Web site's campaign is successful. A group of Democrats who launched a tongue-in-cheek presidential campaign for John Cusack on Wednesday turned its attention to his sister. ``We like Joan a bunch. She's got the mettle to lead nations and the humility to not want the job,'' reports the Web site run by Dan Carol, a former Democratic Party political consultant. Actress Joan Cusack, 39, won a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for ``Working Girl.'' The political Web site -- ...

Jake Paine, of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., swung his driver at Lake Forest Golf and Practice Course in nearby Lake Forest Monday and watched as his ball soared 40 yards through the air, rolled 25 feet and then dropped into the course' sixth hole. "Daddy, I got a hole-in-one!" he yelled to Bill Paine, standing nearby. Jake Paine is three years old. Assistant starter Jeff McDonald said the course logged the hole. The youngest person to previously get a hole-in-one was 5, according to the The Guinness Sports Record Book, published in 1997. Jake called it a "Tiger shot," ...

If John Byrd Jr. gets his way, he will die in September in a burst of flames and the people of the state of Ohio will look pretty ghoulish as a result. Byrd is on death row for the 1983 slaying of a convenience store clerk in Cincinnati and is scheduled to die on Sept. 12. His legal mandatory appeals ran out earlier this year when the Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch effort to claim innocence by way of mistaken identity. But Byrd, 37, is determined not to die with the anonymity of many condemned inmates. He is taking ...

Safety Study The National Transportation Safety Board recently divulged that they had for the past five years covertly funded a project with US auto makers whereby the auto makers installed black boxes in four wheel drive pickup trucks in an effort to determine, in fatal accidents, the circumstances in the last 15 seconds before the crash. They were surprised to find in 44 of the 50 states that the last words of drivers in 61.2 percent of fatal crashes were, "Oh, Shit!" Only the states of West Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee were different, where over 89.3 ...

Washington Gov. Gary Locke embraces members of the Weaver family as he presents each family of the fallen firefighters with a Washington state flag. By STEPHANIE EARLS and PAUL DUNN YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC Dave Leitch didn't sleep well Monday night. The West Valley fire chief had a task before him that few would envy: to pen a speech that would communicate what the loss of four young firefighters meant to him, to the community, to the family of firefighters here and everywhere. Phrases that would speak to the thousands of people present at the Yakima Valley SunDome, insights deep and vast ...

Gunning Against GunsTransparency at the United Nations.Mr. Kopel is research director at the Independence Institute.August 1, 2001 8:30 a.m.   Printer-Friendly E-mail a Friend Kopel Archive Editor's note: This is the second installment in an NRO series on the U.N Small Arms Conference. For Part I, see Score One for Bush. At the Small Arms Conference, one of the buzzwords of gun-prohibition advocates was the need for "transparency" in small arms. This was shorthand for saying that there should be no privacy regarding gun ownership. Every government ought to have a list of every gun owner and every gun ...

During a meeting dominated by budget wrangling, the Ithaca City School District Board of Education approved a new, slightly altered dress code for its students. Following the implementation of Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE), school districts across the state had to pass uniform dress codes, along with host of other safety and discipline measures. SAVE does not state exactly what items should be allowed and not allowed, but says schools must make clear what is and is not acceptable. The legislation also required that a committee of school district employees, board of education members, students and community ...

An Evening with Ward Connerly African-American Advocate Against Racial Quotas Sponsored by the Plum Borough Republican Committee Thursday, Aug 9, 2000 at 7:00pm Ballroom of the Palace Inn Monroeville, PA Tickets for lecture with hors d'ouevres at 7:00pm are $25 each. Tickets for 6:00pm reception in honor of Ward Connerly are $25 each. $5.00 discount for combined reception and lecture purchase Morning talk show hosts, Jim Quinn and Rose, from WRRK will also speak. To Order Tickets by credit card and for more information call 412-795-5173 or send check to:PBRC, PO Box 14244, Pittsburgh, PA 15239 We would appreciate if ...

KUWAIT (AP) - On the eve of the 11th anniversary of being invaded by Iraq, Kuwait said Wednesday it was bracing for terrorist attacks orchestrated by Baghdad. "We have started to fear terrorist operations by the Iraqi regime," Information Minister Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed told reporters. He said recent Iraqi press reports about an alleged armed opposition group in Kuwait "made us certain that there are intentions for a terrorist act in Kuwait." Kuwait is worried Iraq could use the alleged group as a cover for attacks. Kuwait's opposition is unarmed and works through the country's 50-seat Parliament, the ...

Is Your Freedom Is Your Freedom In Danger? THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS by Jarret Wollstein Revised April 1998 What defines the character of America and makes this country a good place to live? For over 200 years, our prosperity and liberty were the envy of much of the world. But our prosperity is inseparable from our liberty. Take away our freedom of speech, religion and enterprise, and America would be neither free nor prosperous. Unique among nations of the modern world, the United States was literally conceived in liberty. The guiding philosophy of Thomas Jefferson, George ...

(CNN) -- Thick clouds at Cape Canaveral, Florida, today delayed the Genesis spacecraft from launching on a mission to capture bits of the sun and bring them back to Earth. Liftoff was scheduled for 12:31 p.m. EDT with only a two-minute launch window. Clouds violated launch constraints, according to NASA spokesman Joel Wells. He said the weather did not look much better for tomorrow. The probe originally was scheduled for launch Monday, but was delayed to let engineers investigate issues with one of the spacecraft's power converters. A similar component being tested for another project failed. NASA early Wednesday said ...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal government is ''reaching a moment of decision'' on education policy, President Bush said Wednesday as he laid out his bottom line for House-Senate negotiators not moving as quickly as he'd like to overhaul the nation's schools. ''We're coming down to the wire. We've got to finish strong and make sure the accountability measure are right,'' Bush said. The president used a speech to the National Urban League to prod lawmakers working this week on Capitol Hill to hammer out differences between House and Senate education bills that would bring several major changes to the federal ...

Our daily post of "word for the day" in order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities. Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the "word of the day" in a sentence. The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day. The Review thread link will be posted for your edification. ;-) Practice makes perfect.....post on.... keffel; noun 1. A worthless or clumsy person. 2. A worthless old horse.

Wednesday, 1 August, 2001, 11:55 GMT 12:55 UK Germany legalises gay marriage The first men to be married celebrate in Hanover The first gay couples in Germany have tied the knot after a new law came into power allowing a form of gay marriage. It should cause something to be recognised as normal everywhere in Germany that was never abnormal Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit Gudrun Pannier and Angelika Baldow took their vows in Berlin to become the first couple to marry. "It is exciting to be the first couple and for us it is a great honour," said Ms ...

Cops tap database to harass, intimidate Misuse among police frequent, say some, but punishments rare July 31, 2001 Special Report Information Abuse --> First of two parts. BY M. L. ELRICKFREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Police throughout Michigan, entrusted with the personal and confidential information in a state law enforcement database, have used it to stalk women, threaten motorists and settle scores. RELATED CONTENT Part 2: Penalties uneven for data misuse Network abuse toppled woman's trust of police To report abuse If you suspect you have been improperly checked through the Law Enforcement Information Network or LEIN, write to Kathy Rector, ...

I would not want to be George W. Bush even if I did get free lodgings in the White House, free rides in Air Force One, and a chance to hang out with a lot of big shots. Being President has to be one of the most thankless jobs. Then there's all those morons going around saying you're too stupid to chew gum and walk a straight line. These are usually the same people who won't publicly criticize Congressman Gary Condit and have just added a couple of million-dollar pork barrel projects to the budget so the folks back home ...

Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 09:05 a.m. Pacific Why Thirty Mile Fire raged without water By Chris SolomonSeattle Times Eastside bureau Before the Thirty Mile Fire turned deadly July 10, dispatchers delayed sending a helicopter to drop water on the flames because they were unsure whether they needed permission to draw water from a river containing threatened fish, the U.S. Forest Service said yesterday. Fourteen firefighters and two hikers were trapped late that afternoon by the fire along the Chewuch River in Okanogan County. Four of the firefighters died. One critically burned firefighter remains in the hospital. Yesterday, Rep. Scott ...

"GROSS." That was the reaction my high school friends and I had to one of the very first music videos we ever watched on MTV. It was the 1984 debut of Madonna's "Like a Virgin." We gasped in disbelief as she writhed on the ground and panted shamelessly about being "touched for the very first time." Madonna repeated her solo porn act during an MTV concert in which she sang - well, moaned - "Like a Virgin" while simulating masturbation on a bed. The most horrifying Madonna-inspired spectacle, though, was not on TV. It was at the mall, where our ...

Washington's Red Worms By Lowell Ponte Leftists in Washington are clearly scheming to gridlock the government, stall the economy into recession, cause unemployment and insecurity, and rely on their Leftist co-conspirators in the national media to blame all problems the Democrats cause on President George W. Bush and Republicans in Congress as America heads into the 2002 and 2004 elections. continue...