Free Republic

1. Executive Summary There were 44,124 alien IDENT matches in September 2013 compared to 47,512 alien IDENT matches in August 2013. In September 2013, SC observed 16,150 LESC Level 1 matches compared to 17,755 LESC Level 1 matches in August 2013. 6,513 aliens identified through use of IDENT/IAFIS interoperability were removed from the country in September 2013. Of these, 2,497 removals were Level 1 convicted criminal aliens. IDENT/IAFIS Interoperability Statistics Secure Communities Monthly Statistics through September 30, 2013. IDENT/IAFIS Interoperability Secure Communities’ use of IDENT/IAFIS interoperability produced over 44,124 alien IDENT matches in September of FY 2013 compared to over...

On the morning of April 29, Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) personnel began procedures to prepare for Lockett’s and Warner’s executions at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary (OSP) in McAlester, Oklahoma. Lockett’s execution was scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. Lockett was removed from his cell that morning and taken to the Institutional Health Care Center (IHCC), located on prison grounds, for self-inflicted lacerations to the inside of his arms and his pre-execution medical examination. Lockett remained at IHCC until later that afternoon, when he was returned to H-Unit to await his execution. Lockett was taken to the execution chamber, placed...

BMW Motorrad and Dainese have announced they will cooperate in joint development of innovative motorcycle safety clothing for BMW Motorrad. Taking the Dainese D-Air® Protect System as its starting point, the partners will be developing motorcycle rider equipment with fully integrated inflatable protectors for BMW Motorrad. The first product to emerge from their cooperation will be the DoubleR RaceAir one-piece leather suit with D-Air® racing protectors, designed exclusively for use on racetracks. The racing suit is scheduled to be presented at the international EICMA motorcycle show in Milan this November, once BMW Motorrad has completed all the required testing in...

-snip- In the past, Harley’s image was directly correlated to the devoted, young, hard-core, rebels that lived to ride. But the rebels of yesterday have aged, changing Harley’s base demographic. In 1987 half of Harley riders were under the age of 35. Today, the average Harley customer is a white, upper-class, 47-year-old man that rides as a hobby. Problematic? Not really. According to Harley’s 2011, 2012, and 2013 10-Q financial statements, since Q3 2011 Harley averaged quarterly motorcycle sales growth of 6.44%, an EBITDA growth rate of 17.65% and a net income growth rate of 14.72%. And, at a stock...

-snip- The truth is, I am optimistic. I believe our country is heading into a crisis. But I also believe that... sooner or later... Americans will make the right choices and put our country back on sound footing. Please pay careful attention to the data I cite. And please send me corrections to the facts. I will happily publish any correction that can be substantiated. But please don't send me threats, accusations against my character, or baseless claims about my lack of patriotism. If I didn't love our country, none of these facts would bother me. I wouldn't have bothered...

You think you've heard it all until I tell you that an appeals court in Illinois recently ruled that a woman is allowed to sue a dead teen's estate for injuries caused by his flying body parts. The 18-year-old boy was running across the Amtrak tracks to catch another train but didn't make it -- he was hit by an oncoming train going 70 mph and his body was torn apart by the force and flung onto a nearby passengers' waiting platform. The woman, 58, was struck by a sizable chunk of the boy's body and was knocked to the...

Polaris Industries Inc., which manufactures all-terrain vehicles and the Victory and Indian motorcycle brands, announced a minority investment in electric motorcycle maker Brammo Inc. on Wednesday. 'We are excited to advance our electric vehicle capability by establishing Polaris as a business partner and part owner of Brammo, one of the most innovative and aggressive companies we have found in the electric motorcycle space," Polaris Chief Executive Scott Wine. "This is a small, but important, investment for Polaris in an electric vehicle market that we feel is poised for significant growth."

In recognition of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Milwaukee's Harley-Davidson Museum will display thousands of flags that spell the word "Remember" on the museum grounds at 400 W. Canal St. The special display will be in place Saturday through Monday. More than 2,790 American flags will be incorporated in the exhibit, each representing a person who lost his or her life on Sept. 11, 2001, and 110 Wisconsin flags will be placed next to the American flags to represent the Wisconsin soldiers who have lost their lives in the ensuing war. Visitors will be invited...

-snip- The question here, obviously, is - who is responsible for the accident? Some can claim that Porsche should not make its car to speed up that much. Porsche 911 GT3, the car he drove during his fatal crash on Monday, was capable of hitting speeds around 190 miles per hour. Porsche is known to be the car James Dean loved, and eventually drove to death - Dean was driving Porsche 550 Spyder when the fatal accident occurred, killing the American film hero on September 30, 1955. -snip-

"Godfather of Rap" Gil Scott-Heron, who in 1970 mixed poetry and music for his militant song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," died Friday afternoon in a New York hospital, his publicist told CNN. He was 62, and the cause of death was not immediately stated. Scott-Heron was known to be HIV positive and had struggled with drug addiction throughout a large part of his life. "You will not be able to stay home, brother/You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out/You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip/Skip out for...

In an attempt to bring new life to relations with Pakistan, Sen. John Kerry is in Islamabad this week. And as an act of goodwill, Pakistan has agreed to return the tail of the U.S. military helicopter that malfunctioned during the Osama bin Laden raid, Kerry said.

Erik Buell, founder of Buell Motorcycle Co., is making a comeback with a limited-production street bike that will be made in East Troy. Tuesday, Buell said he would have the motorcycle ready this spring, for sale in small numbers through Erik Buell Racing. "The first round of bikes are going to be collectibles, exotic, special-edition," he said. Motorcycle industry journalists have speculated that a sequel was in the works for Buell after the company he founded 28 years ago in a Mukwonago barn was shut down in 2009 by its owner, Harley-Davidson Inc. "This is true Americana. Here's a guy...

Chinese-born pianist Lang Lang played the anti-American propaganda tune "My Motherland" during his performance at the White House state dinner last week for Chinese President Hu Jintao. That's the song in which U.S. soldiers are referred to as "jackals." We would remind Mr. Lang that a similar display of ungracious freedom of expression in his homeland would have led to his execution.

[Milwaukee, Wisc..] Kevin Clancy, a former ACORN voter registration worker, has been sentenced to 10 months in a Wisconsin jail for vote fraud. Clancy was convicted of election fraud arising out of the November 4, 2008, Presidential election. He was charged with one count of Falsely Procuring Voter Registration as Party to a Crime by the Election Fraud Task Force, a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office and the Milwaukee Police Department. “Like all rights, the right to vote must be protected,” said Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen upon sentencing. “I...

The second time the beach ball hit me on the head, I started feeling motivated. Not to become an instant millionaire with the help of Jesus and some cheesy business evangelists. Rather, I felt motivated to flee the 9-hour, $9.95 Get Motivated! seminar at the Verizon Center, which had devolved into a faux beach party with DJs playing ’80s music and audience members tossing around plastic beach balls and dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Van Halen’s “Jump.”

An Oak Creek man has pleaded guilty to submitting 54 fake voter registrations in Milwaukee during the 2008 presidential election. Prosecutors charged 31-year-old Frank Walton in October 2008 with one count of election fraud. He faces up to 42 months in prison and a $10,000 fine when he's sentenced Dec. 6. According to a criminal complaint, Walton worked for Community Voters Project, run by the Boston-based nonprofit environmental group Fund for the Public Interest. He was fired after Milwaukee election officials notified CVP that Walton had registered a dead man. Walton's attorney, Thomas Flanagan, said he had no comment on...

My new position has me dealing with several Sun Terminals controlling industrial equipment. I have ZERO experience with this O/S though I did manage thru an fsck command the night before (multiple power outages). I am looking for FReeper advice: recommended books, forums, classes, etc. Thanks in advance . . .

Madison — State elections officials Wednesday narrowly rejected a Milwaukee Assembly candidate's attempt to run with the slogan "NOT the 'whiteman's bitch' " under her name on the ballot. Ieshuh Griffin, an independent candidate with a history of feuds with local officials, said in response she would sue the state Government Accountability Board for infringing on her freedom of speech. She is running to replace retiring Rep. Annette "Polly" Williams (D-Milwaukee). "I'm not making a derogatory statement toward an ethnic group. I'm stating what I'm not," Griffin told board members. "It's my constitutional right to freedom of speech." Unlike candidates...

It was 1970 and a daredevil arrived in Milwaukee on an important mission - to sell himself and his brand of entertainment to Harley-Davidson. He brought with him his first wife, two sons, a movie projector and a reel of film. He met with John Davidson, a grandson of the firm's co-founder, and another Harley official, Tom Platz. He rolled the film, a 15-minute montage of his greatest hits - and misses. The executives watched as the reel unspooled and displayed, up close and very personal, the bumps, scrapes, bruises and breaks endured by the daredevil who could make motorcycles...

Having climbed aboard an American icon at one of the most difficult points in its history, Keith Wandell has been driven by an overriding thought: Don't let Harley-Davidson become General Motors. Now, nearly a year into the job, Harley's chief executive officer has cut millions of dollars in costs, eliminated thousands of jobs and brought a sense of urgency to the world's largest maker of heavyweight motorcycles. Some of the changes, particularly the job cuts, have been painful. But in his first extensive interview since taking the reins, Wandell told the Journal Sentinel last week that the actions he took...