Free Republic

There was a lot of noise made back in August of this year over Congressman Brian Baird, (D. Wa.) canceling out on all of his town halls over alleged death threats he claims he received. Baird was under fire from both sides for not holding face to face meetings with constituents and was strongly criticized for incendiary comments made comparing town hall attendees to “Nazi’s,” “Brown Shirts,” “Timothy McVeigh” and the like, which he eventually apologized for and agreed to hold some town halls. The day after the first town hall, Baird again came under heavy criticism for what was...

VILLA NUEVA, Guatemala - Slum dwellers armed with shotguns have taken to Guatemala's streets to hand vigilante justice to youth gangs as voters sick of crime increasingly back a hardline ex-general's run for president. Roving bands of masked men communicating over walkie-talkies and armed with sticks, machetes and shotguns patrol the poor Villa Nueva slum on the edge of Guatemala City at night looking for members of infamous "Mara" gangs. The well-organized patrols, whose secretive members are suspicious of outsiders, killed at least one gang member, David Castillo alias "The Siren", earlier this month. "It's another war," said resident Sheni...