Free Republic

Beware the wolf in sheep's clothing. Barack Obama ran as a peace candidate but will end his Presidency as a war monger, and his decision to provide air cover for the Syrian rebels and al-Qaeda terrorists may unleash the hounds from hell as reported by C. J. Chivers for The New York Times: "many rebels have adopted some of the same brutal and ruthless tactics as the regime they are trying to overthrow," and "American military action could inadvertently strengthen Islamic extremists and criminals." Of course, it's becoming increasingly clear that President Obama never was the humanitarian he pretended to...

Pennsylvania state police ran a top-secret investigation into whether then-Gov. Ed Rendell and his administration rigged the outcome of the casino licensing process to benefit favored applicants, including a wealthy and politically connected businessman suspected of having mob ties, a new book asserts. But the probe failed to lead to criminal charges against anyone in the administration or on the state gambling board, and prosecutors blamed the state Supreme Court for thwarting the investigation, according to "The Quiet Don," a forthcoming book by Matt Birkbeck that also serves as the first full-length biography of reclusive northeastern Pennsylvania mob boss Russell...

But Ector and other African-Americans who share his views on firearms see gun rights as a civil rights issue and tighter regulations as a way to keep power out of the hands of minorities. "Gun control has racist roots and when you deny people the opportunity to own a gun and to protect themselves, that is the epitome of racism," he told Al Jazeera.

The "massive forest fire that has scorched 348 square miles in and around Yosemite National Park may have been sparked by illegal marijuana growers" as reported by Fox News. As the Mexican cartels face increasing obstacles in moving their product over the border, they are setting up marijuana grow operations on remote public lands across the United States. For example, during the 2010 growing season busted nearly 100 people -- most Mexican nationals with suspected ties to the drug cartels -- for alleged marijuana grow operations on public land in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, and seized $1.7...

Spare us the dramatics, Mr. President. In a propaganda campaign Barack Obama is justifying his imminent attack against Syria by "showing the world newly declassified intelligence files that revealed how [the government] slaughtered at least 1,429 of its own people -- including 426 children -- with poison gas" as reported by the New York Post. Of course the images of innocent civilians including children getting gassed is horrific, and there is no defense of that monster Bashar Assad who calls himself the Syrian President. However, the American people should not be emotionally manipulated into supporting another U.S.-led war in the...

It's hard to take a bite out of crime when the criminal justice system doesn't have any teeth. A teacher was sentenced to just a month in prison for raping a 14-year-old student who later committed suicide. A snitch got stitches but those behind the gang assault got only probation. Hard time is hard to find in mob cases. Justice Department calls for early release of drug dealers from prison. Immigration reform offers mass amnesty for law breaking. Is it any wonder that the good people of the United States are losing faith in their so-called government?

Barack Obama just commemorated the 50th anniversary of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and now the President is dishonoring the great man who preached non-violence by preparing to launch missile strikes against Syria which will provide air cover for al-Qaeda terrorists on the ground. Of course, President Obama cares little about either jobs (enduring unemployment) or freedom (NSA snoops) in this country, and his attendance at yesterday's commemoration was a mockery of the historic march just as the imminent war against Syria turns his Nobel Peace Prize into a global evil...

The national police in Israel are investigating suspected ties between some local governments and crime groups as reported by Revital Hovel for Haaretz: "According to Commander Eran Kamin: 'There are crime organizations that the police know of that are suspected of creating ties with mayors so as to take over or take the local authority's resources.' Kamin cited in particular the extensive real estate, tenders and funds that municipalities control. 'Organized crime is trying to penetrate anywhere there are mayors, to take advantage of them for their own benefit.'" Mafia clans in Italy, the United States and Canada long have...

William Rapfogel has been fired as the long-time head of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty at which he ironically earned more than $400,000 a year "for what it called 'financial irregularities and apparent misconduct'" as reported by the Daily News: "Investigators are looking into whether Rapfogel overpaid the Met Council's insurance provider, Century Coverage of Valley Stream, L.I., and then directed Century to make political donations to politicians who funded his organization." Rapfogel is tight with New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and Rapfogel's wife Judy is Silver's chief of staff. Silver "has appropriated $868,000 in discretionary funds...

New York Senator Chuck Schumer probably gets a lot of letters from his constituents kvetching about all manner of issues affecting their lives. But one he received from U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska on Friday will likely stand out. In a nine-page diatribe, Judge Preska all but says the harsh federal budget cuts in Manhattan federal court have left the wheels of justice with a set of flat tires. So-called “sequestration” is “jeopardizing our ability to carry out our duties in the manner and timeframe the public expects and the Constitution demands,” Judge Preska wrote.

Local cops across the country are questioning a 2011 report from the now-defunct National Drug Intelligence Center within the Justice Department which concluded Mexican drug cartels are operating in their communities as reported by The Washington Post. For example, Capt. Michael Utz of the Police Department in Garden City, KA says "we have drugs in our community but as far as the Juárez Cartel operating in this city, I don't have any information on that." With all due respect Captain Utz, those drugs aren't manna from Heaven. Indeed, "drug policy analysts estimate that about 90 percent of the cocaine, heroin,...

About 50 federal, state and local law enforcement officers are cracking down on gang members throughout the Fresno area. They say they are seeing an increase of guns in the hands of criminals on Fresno streets.

Narcoland isn't for sissies. Mexican authorities have unearthed the mass grave of thirteen youths -- all beheaded -- who were kidnapped from a Mexico City nightclub last May as reported by The Associated Press: "the kidnapping and murder has revealed a gangland battle for control of the lucrative drug trade in the poshest bars and nightclubs of a megalopolis that had been an oasis of calm during Mexico's nearly seven-year drug war." Talk about job hazards. No doubt clubgoers still enjoyed their party favors last night even after learning of the gruesome discovery because degenerate druggies care about nothing except...

A federal judge has denied the motion for a new trial by New Jersey defense lawyer Paul Bergrin who was convicted last March on 23 criminal counts which ranged from trafficking cocaine, pimping hookers and murdering witnesses, and the dirtbag will be sentenced on Monday as reported by The Associated Press. Lawyers breaking bad long has been a problem within the bar, and several once high-flying legal eagles have had their wings recently clipped by criminal convictions. Last April Jerry "Angel" Peteet was sentenced to 23 years in a federal prison after he was convicted in a racketeering trial targeting...

Italian Deputy Premier Angelino Alfano on Thursday said other countries should pay for the detention of immigrant prisoners in Italy. "Immigrants who are in prison undermine the pact with the State where they decided to go live. Let's make the States of origin pay at least for the board and lodging of immigrant detainees."

Former underground bareknuckle fighters in Russia have launched a real-life "Fight Club" for bussinessmen and office workers looking to get a kick out of life.

Citing “an unprecedented financial crisis” in the courts, the chief judges from 87 of the nation’s 94 judicial districts in a letter to Congress expressed “grave concern” that flat funding in recent years, combined with the automatic, across-the-board budget cuts associated with the sequester are hurting the courts’ ability to do their jobs.

The feds have charged a West Virginia judge with conspiring to use the criminal justice system to railroad a romantic rival as reported by Kate White for The Charleston Gazette. Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury apparently was banging his secretary, and when the love affair soured the good old boy allegedly schemed with a state trooper and grand jury foreman to put her husband behind bars on trumped up drug charges. Judge Thornsbury should be charged with treason against America for undermining the public's faith in its governing institutions, and if convicted given the death penalty. The real threat...

Three more weapons from the Fast and Furious gun walking operation by U.S. law enforcement "have turned up at crime scenes in Mexico" as reported by Sharyl Attkisson for CBS News: "A steady stream of the guns have been recovered at crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S. But the Justice Department has refused repeated requests from Congress and CBS News to provide a full accounting. An estimated 1,400 guns are still on the street or unaccounted for." Over 200 people have been killed, including border patrol agent Brian Terry, by Fast and Furious guns. The Justice Department says it...

The Knights Templar is a cult-like drug cartel which controls much of the western state of Michoacan, and it has launched a public relations campaign to push out federal police and stamp out citizen patrols which challenge the powerful crime group as reported by Mark Stevenson for the Associated Press. In a videotaped statement on social media Knights Templar leader Servando "La Tuta" Gomez railed against federal police, and an apparent front group for the drug cartel complained about citizen resistance. La Tuta must be pulling a page from the playbook of mob boss Joe Colombo who created the Italian...