Free Republic

Nov. 13, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged Governor Rick Snyder not to implement a state-run health insurance exchange under Obamacare. In his letter, Wilson wrote that the governor “hold[s] the fate of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, in your hands,” noting that if the exchange is not implemented by Snyder, employers in the state will be protected from the law’s employer mandate. “Without the cost burdens imposed by the state exchange, your employers will enjoy a significant competitive advantage over their competitors in states which have exchanges,” Wilson wrote. The...

It was an experiment that should have never worked. On paper and in conventional wisdom, the United States of America was a virtual impossibility. In no other time in the history of man had such a small group of men and women stood against such insurmountable odds, to stand and declare independence from the most powerful nation on the planet. Money was not on their side, manpower was not on their side. They had nothing but the determination and belief that the cause they were fighting for, that they were risking their fortunes and very lives for, was the most...

Former Marine Killed in IraqLast Edited: Friday, 06 Mar 2009, 10:38 PM EST Created On: Friday, 06 Mar 2009, 10:37 PM EST Ron Savage RIVERVIEW, Mich. - A former Marine from metropolitan Detroit is killed in Iraq. 25-year-old Justin Pope was working for a U.S. contractor. Friday night, he was remembered as a kind and brave man who wanted to serve his country. A crowd of more than 100 people gathered to celebrate his life. The Riverview police and fire departments also joined the vigil. It was an evening of prayers, candles and crying. Pope served two tours of duty...

Economist’s Best Case Scenario For 2009: Michigan To Lose 90,000 JobsPOSTED: 11:00 pm EST December 4, 2008 UPDATED: 11:15 pm EST December 4, 2008 DETROIT -- A top economist has painful predictions for Michigan’s immediate future. Comerica Bank Chief Economist Dana Johnson believes, based on plans auto CEOs presented the Senate Thursday, the state will lose 90,000 jobs if the government offers bridge loans. Should two Detroit automakers go bankrupt that estimate jumps to 250,000 jobs lost. “Some serious consolidation has to be done to make these companies viable under their own plans. This is not outside critics, this is...

Three Pit Bulls Turn On OwnersPOSTED: 10:07 pm EST November 28, 2008 UPDATED: 10:31 pm EST November 29, 2008 ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- The owners of three pit bulls that attacked two sisters said they are considering legal action against police. Three family pets turned on the women Friday afternoon biting and chasing them until police were called. A man, his 22-year-old wife, her 17-year-old sister and the sister’s infant were all living in the same Royal Oak home. The man left the house at about 11 a.m. The 22-year-old woman said the dogs became unruly when her sister tripped...

Six-Year-Old Girl Bitten By Exotic MonkeyPOSTED: 6:40 am EDT April 11, 2008 UPDATED: 8:04 am EDT April 11, 2008 TRENTON, Mich. -- A 6-year-old girl will need to undergo several tests after being bitten by a neighbor's pet monkey. The girl, whose name is Reece, was playing near the Trenton Assembly of God when she spotted the monkey being walked on a leash. Reece said it ran up to her and bit her on the finger. "We were playing and I said, 'look there's a monkey'. And then, um, it bit me," said Reece. The monkey, named Mikey, is from...

Crayola Celebrates Colorful Milestone Company Introduces 8 New 'Kids' Choice' ColorsUPDATED: 12:18 pm EDT April 10, 2008 Crayola celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Crayola 64 Box with the introduction of eight new "Kids' Choice Colors." The iconic box, complete with a built-in sharpener, first debuted on the Captain Kangaroo show in 1958. To celebrate the anniversary, Crayola introduced eight new colors selected by children to tell a story about what's important to today's youth. The new colors include Super Happy, Fun in the Sun, Giving Tree, Bear Hug, Awesome, Happy Ever After, Famous and Best Friends. More than 200...

Neighbors Chip in to Buy RV for Seattle 'Squirrelman'Thursday, April 10, 2008 SEATTLE — A homeless man who has spent the past two years living in a treehouse has a new, terrestrial home just in the nick of time, thanks to neighbors. David "Squirrelman" Csaky, a self-taught carpenter, learned Tuesday that neighbors had found an aging recreational vehicle for him to occupy. "I'm overwhelmed," Csaky said. "I started crying when they told me." For two years, Csaky, 52, has lived about 30 feet above the ground in a 300-square-foot self-made platform, accessible by a ladder counterweighted with sandbags on pulleys...

Microscopic Peach Fuzz May Be Evidence of MartiansThursday, April 03, 2008 By Dave MosherA bundle of cellulose fibers around 253 million years old, recovered from a salt deposit 2,000 feet beneath the ground in New Mexico. A bundle of cellulose fibers around 253 million years old, recovered from a salt deposit 2,000 feet beneath the ground in New Mexico. If Martian life existed a few billion years ago, scientists think any plant-like microbes would have left behind a stringy fuzz of fibers. That's because here on Earth, researchers now say they have found such ancient fuzz, called cellulose, preserved in...

3rd Graders Find Gun in Classroom Cabinet; California Teacher Arrested Thursday, April 03, 2008 SANTA ANA, Calif. — An elementary school teacher was arrested after her third-grade students found an unloaded handgun and ammunition in a classroom supply cabinet, officials said Thursday. Teacher Jayne DeArmond was arrested Wednesday for investigation of possession of a firearm on a school campus and misdemeanor child endangerment after students at Diamond Elementary School found the weapon, said Angela Burrell, a spokeswoman for the Santa Ana Unified School District.

CDC: About 1 in 50 U.S. Infants Is a Victim of Nonfatal Child Abuse, NeglectThursday, April 03, 2008 About 1 in 50 U.S. infants are victims of nonfatal child abuse or neglect in a year, according to the first national study of the problem in that age group. The study focused on children younger than 1 year, and found nearly a third were one week old or younger when the abuse or neglect occurred. "It is a particularly vulnerable group," said study co-author Rebecca Leeb, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We were struck by the fact there...

Lawsuit: Female Tigers Fans Unknowingly Starred in 'Soft Core' Videos Thursday, March 27, 2008 A lawsuit filed by the Detroit Tigers' former scoreboard operator alleges team photographers shot inappropriate "soft core videos" of female fans at home baseball games, the Detroit News reports. The videos were "freely and openly shown in the scoreboard area to all employees and supervisors on almost a regular basis," claims the sexual harassment suit filed by former Comerica Park scoreboard operator Reanen Maxwell, the paper said. "We believe there is no merit to the allegations," Karen Cullen, a spokeswoman for team owner Mike Ilitch, told...

Dad Allowed to Take Leave From Prison to See His Dying Little GirlThursday, March 27, 2008 OMAHA, Neb. — A 10-year-old Nebraska girl with terminal brain cancer had a simple last wish: to have her dad by her side as she lay on her death bed. On Wednesday, seemingly against all odds, Jayci Yaeger's wish came true. Her father, Jason Yaeger, who has been locked up in a South Dakota federal prison on methamphetamine charges, was allowed to see his daughter for what may be the last time. He was furloughed after a barrage of letters and phone calls from...

Mathis: I Do Not Support Mayor Judge Mathis Denies Heading Up Defense FundPOSTED: 12:57 pm EDT March 27, 2008 UPDATED: 1:11 pm EDT March 27, 2008 DETROIT -- Embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is establishing a legal defense fund called The Detroit Justice Fund to pay his mounting legal bills. "Of course, all fundraising requirements will be met," said an official from the Mayor's office. "There will be no set donation amounts." One of the names tied to heading up this defense fund committee was Detroit native Judge Greg Mathis. On Thursday, Mathis sent out a statement denying his involvement....

'Psycho' Polar Bear Knut 'Addicted to Fame'Thursday, March 27, 2008 BERLIN — Knut the polar bear has turned from a cuddly cub into a publicity-addicted psycho, one of his keepers has claimed. Markus Roebke said Berlin Zoo's celebrity animal was obsessed with the limelight and howled with rage when denied an audience. "Knut must go and the sooner the better," he said, insisting that the bear should be sent to an animal park where he received less attention "He is addicted to the whole show, the human adulation. It is not healthy. "He actually cries out or whimpers if he...

Real-Life Drama Fuels 'Stop-Loss' Director Peirce Examines Military Loophole In Soldier DramaTim Lammers, Web Staff Editor POSTED: 3:56 pm EDT March 26, 2008 While the timing of the release of the new military drama "Stop-Loss" comes on the heels of the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, the last thing director and co-writer Kimberly Peirce wants people to think is that she's launched some sort of cinematic protest against the government. In fact, the film, which opens in theaters Friday, is not so much about the war itself as it is the people who are serving in...

Sex Offender Ordered by Judge to Post Signs Tuesday, March 25, 2008 HUDSON, Kan. — Under a judge's order, a man who has admitted molesting a boy has posted signs around his house and a decal on his car proclaiming that he is a sex offender. The hand-painted signs reading "A Sex Offender Lives Here" are posted on all four sides of Leroy Schad's white house in this central Kansas town of only about 150 people. His vehicle has a large decal with bold yellow lettering reading "Sex Offender In This Car." Schad, 72, was originally charged with four counts...

911 Tapes Released in Case of 8-Month-Old Injured While Visiting Mall Easter BunnyTuesday, March 25, 2008 A Texas man who plays the Easter Bunny at Lakeline Mall says accusations that he purposely threw a child off his lap during a photo session are false and it was all a misunderstanding, MyFOXAustin reports. Officials have released two 911 calls made right after the incident happened. Paul Clough was arrested Friday after he became irritated while posing with children for photographs and allegedly placed an 8-month-old baby on the ground. Sometime during that process, the baby was injured and suffered a bruise...

Parents Sue After Child Inherits HemophiliaSunday, March 23, 2008 The words new mother Fiona least expected or wanted to hear when she gave birth were: "It's a boy." The 30-year-old and her husband Paul used in-vitro fertilization, known as IVF, with the specific aim of producing a daughter and expected a girl for the entire pregnancy. A family history of an incurable blood disorder, which strikes only males, was behind their decision to opt for the controversial sex selection procedure. Click here to see a photo of the baby. By taking the extreme step of asking doctors to discard all...

21-Year-Old Message In a Bottle Drifts 1,735 MilesSunday, March 23, 2008 SEATTLE, Washington — Merle Brandell and his black lab Slapsey were beachcombing along the Bering Sea when he spied a plastic bottle among the Japanese glass floats he often finds along the shore of his tiny Alaskan fishing village. He walked over and saw an envelope tucked inside. After slicing the bottle open, Brandell found a message from an elementary school student in a suburb of Seattle. The fact that the letter traveled 1,735 miles without any help from the U.S. postal service is unusual, but that's only the...