Free Republic

Police arrest 67 at checkpoints Wednesday, May 31, 2006 By NADIA M. TAYLOR Staff Reporter Officers issued more than 1,800 tickets and arrested 67 people over the Memorial Day weekend at several driver's license checkpoints throughout the city, police said. Most of the 1,834 tickets issued were for not having a driver's license or proof of insurance, according to interim Mobile police Chief Lester Hargrove. Fifty-four people were arrested on outstanding misdemeanor warrants, and 13 people were arrested on felony warrants, Hargrove said. Most charges stemmed from traffic violations or drug offenses, police said. One man, Carl Mitchell Washington, 22,...

DANBURY — In a decision Superior Court trial referee Robert Callahan "agonized long and hard over," he ruled in favor of two accused drug dealers who claimed they were stopped outside the Sheraton in Danbury in 2004 only because they were black. In a written decision dated May 17 and received Friday by defense lawyers, Callahan said he came to his decision, which essentially guts the state's case against the men, "reluctantly" and after "soul-searching." Lawyer James Diamond of Danbury said his client Demetere Taft, 30, of Beaver Street, is "obviously very pleased that the judge has agreed with the...

The preliminary hearing of Dr. Wenyi Wang, 47, was postponed again for nearly two weeks, till May 31 as both sides sought more time to prepare. The charges stem from her interruption of the Chinese Communist leader Hu Jintao on April 20 at the White House South Lawn. She was escorted away by the Secret Service, spent the rest of the day in jail, and later was released without bail on her own recognizance, pending further proceedings. The physician protester is being charged with a federal misdemeanor of "willfully intimidating, coercing, threatening and harassing a foreign official." The punishment she...

STAMFORD -- Carl "Harry" Roesch liked to stay in touch by postcard. Trouble is, authorities say, he sent hundreds of them. To judges. Filled with insults. The former U.S. Air Force captain sent so many postcards to Connecticut's top judges that he was finally arrested in 2004 on eight misdemeanor charges of harassment and breach of peace. A prosecutor agreed to drop the charges this month as long as Roesch would leave the judges alone, said Philip Russell, Roesch's attorney. Roesch, a 69-year-old Ridgefield resident who has never been convicted of a crime, argued that the postcards were harmless and...

Medical Students Traveling to Harrisburg, Pa. to Urge State Legislators to Pass Bill Banning Bulk Sales of Handguns 4/21/2006 3:18:00 PM To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor Contact: Diane Edbril, 215-923-3151, or Peter Hamm, 202-898-5792, both for the Pennsylvanians Against Trafficking Handguns Coalition News Advisory: A group of Philadelphia area medical students are coming to the State Capitol Monday, April 24 to visit legislators and urge them to take action on a bill that would restrict sales of multiple handguns. Such multiple sales have been identified by law enforcement experts as a sign of illegal gun trafficking. "As physicians in training,...

A woman accused of heckling Chinese President Hu Jintao during a White House appearance this week was charged Friday in federal court with a misdemeanor of willfully intimidating, coercing threatening and harassing a foreign official. ADVERTISEMENT Wang Wenyi, 47, had obtained temporary press credentials as a reporter for a Falun Gong newspaper and positioned herself on a camera stand. According to Secret Service translations provided in court documents, she shouted in Chinese: "Stop oppressing the Falun Gong," as well as "Your Time is running out," and "Anything you have done will come back to you in this lifetime." She also...

Washington, D.C. — Concerned Women for America (CWA) expressed its strong dismay at the multibillion-dollar broadcast industry’s latest attempt to abuse the public airwaves. After repeatedly offending the public with indecent broadcasts, four major broadcasters filed what CWA believes are frivolous lawsuits challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) recent rulings. A license to broadcast doesn’t give anyone – not even super-rich Big-Media conglomerates – the right to broadcast indecent language between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The four major broadcasters want the courts to approve the indiscriminate use of words for excretory and explicit sexual conduct. “All four broadcast networks...

The explosive idea of forcing Internet providers to record their customers' online activities for future police access is gaining ground in state capitols and in Washington, D.C.... Mandatory data retention requirements worry privacy advocates because they permit police to obtain records of e-mail chatter, Web browsing or chat-room activity that normally would have been discarded after a few months. And some proposals would require providers to retain data that ordinarily never would have been kept at all.... Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the free-market Cato Institute, was the member of the Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity...

Ohio State University will press forward with frivolous investigation despite ADF letter COLUMBUS, Ohio — Officials at the Ohio State University are investigating an OSU Mansfield librarian for “sexual harassment” after he recommended four conservative books for a freshman reading program. ADF has demanded that OSU cease its frivolous investigation, yet the university is pressing forward, claiming that it takes the charges “seriously.” “Universities are one of the most hostile places for Christians and conservatives in America,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David French, who heads ADF’s Center for Academic Freedom. “It is shameful that OSU would investigate a Christian...

Washington, D.C. - Following the unfortunate passage of the highly contested 527 legislation (H.R. 513) that will dramatically reduce First Amendment protections of political speech, David Keating, Executive Director of the Club for Growth, the nation’s leading free-market advocacy organization with over 35,000 members, made the following statement: “Passage of this Republican-sponsored legislation is nothing more than an outrageous assault on the First Amendment. The House Republicans may think they have made a wise political move, but subverting the Constitution in an attempt to make political gains is inexcusable and will shut down a crucial way to support the policies...

NEW YORK A preacher found relief from a higher authority today when an appeals court ruled that Ithaca selectively used its noise ordinance to silence him in violation of his rights to free speech, equal protection and freedom of religion. The 2nd U-S Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ordered a federal judge in Albany to declare victory for Kevin Deegan -- saying it found the noise ordinance "cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny." Deegan had sued Ithaca, its attorney and its chief of police in a bid to strike down the ordinance in the college town 45 miles south of Syracuse....

Senior Staff Writer (CNSNews.com) - An Arizona police supervisor Tuesday said the federal agency charged with regulating the nation's firearms industry "absolutely devastated" his career and his personal life, all because he gave a gun to a friend as a gift. Tucson Police Lt. Michael Lara was among a panel of witnesses who told the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is in need of serious reform. Lara purchased a handgun from a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL) in 2003, planning to give it to a friend...

On Wed,March 22, there will be a hearing in Essex County Court in Massachusetts, which could result in the banning of a book by Fathers rights(Pro-Family) activist, Kevin Thompson. Kevin Thompson has been fighting a long and lonely battle in the Essex Probate and Family Court to try to be able to be a father to his son. Several months ago, the court impounded the records of the trial and Judge DeGangi has recently granted a restraining order forbidding Kevin from distributing his book, EXPOSING THE CORRUPTION IN THE MASSACHUSETTS FAMILY COURTS.

<p>John McCain, you treasonous bastard, I challenge you or any of your traitorous cohorts to find even one thread, one post, one paragraph, one sentence or even one lousy word posted to this web site that is not fully protected by the First Amendment!</p>

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Now that Wal-Mart is required under Maryland law to spend at least eight percent of its payroll for employee health benefits, some state lawmakers want smaller businesses to pay up, too. Legislation introduced Wednesday in Annapolis would require all businesses to spend 4.5 percent of their payrolls on health care for both full and part-time employees. As with the larger employer law, the money would either have to be use for company-provided insurance or paid to the state. The bill's sponsors says the 800,000 Marylanders without health insurance could benefit from the proposal. Small business owners...

U.S. House Will Vote Soon on Whether to Ditch John McCain's Internet Regulations Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org Wednesday, March 15, 2006 The U.S. House of Representatives will vote, as early as Thursday, on legislation introduced by Texas Congressmen Jeb Hensarling and Ron Paul. This bill (H.R. 1606) will exempt the Internet from regulation under federal "electioneering" laws. Unless the Hensarling-Paul bill is successful, many major blogs and web sites could be shut down for 60 days before any general election -- and for 30...

The Federal Election Commission has postponed a long-anticipated decision on whether to apply the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law to political speech on the Internet. It appeared that FEC Commissioner Michael Toner wanted to give Congress a chance to pass the Online Freedom of Speech Act proposed by Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling. But late Wednesday afternoon, the House Rules Committee passed on the opportunity by failing to report Hensarling’s bill out of committee for debate on the House floor. Key House aides told NewsMax that the House would likely resume discussion after March 27. If so, legislators might have to...

A government crackdown on indecent programming resulted in a proposed fine of $3.6 million against dozens of CBS stations and affiliates on Wednesday - a record penalty from the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC said an episode of the CBS crime drama "Without a Trace" that aired in December 2004 was indecent. It cited the graphic depiction of "teenage boys and girls participating in a sexual orgy." CBS said it strongly disagrees with the FCC's finding. The program "featured an important and socially relevant storyline warning parents to exercise greater supervision of their teenage children. The program was not unduly...

A 16-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday after postings on the popular Web site MySpace.com allegedly showed him holding handguns, authorities said. The teen was being held at a juvenile detention center facing three misdemeanor charges of juvenile possession of a handgun, said district attorney spokeswoman Pam Russell. He is due in court Feb. 27. Police searched the boy's home after receiving a tip from Evergreen High School on Feb. 10, the same day he was suspended, officials said. School spokesman Rick Kaufman said parents were calling with concerns and some kept their children home after photographs posted on the boy's...

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a small congregation in New Mexico may use hallucinogenic tea as part of a four-hour ritual intended to connect with God. Justices, in their first religious freedom decision under Chief Justice John Roberts, moved decisively to keep the government out of a church's religious practice. Federal drug agents should have been barred from confiscating the hoasca tea of the Brazil-based church, Roberts wrote in the decision. The tea, which contains an illegal drug known as DMT, is considered sacred to members of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, which has...