Free Republic

Times Square Is Evacuated in Bomb Scare The scene at Times Square on Saturday night after police found a suspicious package inside a Pathfinder on West 45th Street. RAY RIVERA and KARIN HENRY May 1, 2010 A bomb in Times Square led to the evacuation of thousands of tourists and theatergoers from the area on a warm and busy Saturday evening, the police said. There was no explosion. “It appears to be a car bomb left in a Pathfinder between Seventh and Eighth,” said Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman. The device, he said, contained “explosive...

<p>Three Houston police officers have been assigned desk duties as city and federal authorities scrutinize the arrest of a local Chinese diplomat who says police hit him in the face during a traffic stop last weekend at the Chinese Consulate.</p>

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Norman Police confirmed they are investigating the death of Keith Kimmel who made national news earlier this year after suing the Oklahoma Tax Commission to approve his request to have "IM GAY" put on his license plate. Kimmel was found dead Wednesday morning. The tax commission turned down Kimmel's specialized plate request last year on grounds it could be offensive to the general public. On Monday, Kimmel filed a complaint against Tulsa Police for how he says officers treated him at an incident over the weekend. Read the Formal Complaint Kimmel writes that the officers "beat him"...

OKLAHOMA CITY --- A Norman resident has sued to get a proclamation of his sexual preference on the Oklahoma license tag he displays on the back of his car. But state officials have declined to provide 28-year-old Keith Kimmel with a vanity tag that says IM GAY, and now he's suing to get it.

Abortion-rights advocates have been unable to halt the "Choose Life" license plate variations in nearly two-dozen states, so now they're working to balance the bumper debate. Activists are pushing a "Trust Women/Respect Choice" license plate in Virginia, which would become only the fourth state to offer a pro-choice plate and the first to require legislative approval for it. Supporters have threatened to sue if lawmakers don't give drivers the option. "We really don't feel like a license plate is the place to be promoting a political agenda," said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. "However, the pro-choice community...

Victoria Cobb, President Sunday, January 17, 2010 G.A. Alert #5: “In God We Trust” License Plate Read Our Latest Blog Posts @ www.familyfoundationblog.com Dear: Last year pro-life Virginians won a tremendous victory when the General Assembly passed legislation creating “Choose Life” license plates. This year, there is another opportunity to create a new license plate with the phrase “In God We Trust”. Virginians have a more than 200 specialty license plate motifs to choose from when they go to the DMV to register a car, everything from supporting state universities to “Choose Life” to “Parrotheads” to wildlife. This new plate...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A federal judge has issued an order that will make way for a Confederate heritage specialty license plate from the state of Florida's Department of Motor Vehicles. Confederate license plate Sons Of Confederate Veterans The proposed Confederate flag. In a lawsuit filed nearly one year ago after two years of Florida legislative inaction to approve the plate, a federal Middle District judge upheld the First Amendment right to have a plate issued by the DMV. "We followed all the procedures, paid the fees required by the state, and did absolutely everything that was required by law, and...

High court permits 'HOE' license plate Wednesday, July 8, 2009 A Las Vegas man has won a battle with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles over his "HOE" license plate, which the DMV wouldn't renew on grounds he was using a slang reference to whores. The high court ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada and William Junge, who said he had the personalized plate from 1999 to 2006, when the DMV refused to let him renew it. Junge said he wanted "TAHOE" for the plate on his 1999 Chevy Tahoe, but it wasn't available so...

A national network of cameras and computers automatically logging car number plates will be in place within months, the BBC has learned. Thousands of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras are already operating on Britain's roads. Police forces across England, Wales and Scotland will soon be able to share the information on one central computer. Officers say it is a useful tool in fighting crime, but critics say the network is secretive and unregulated. Kent's Chief Constable, Michael Fuller, commented: "We've seen an increase of some 40% of arrests since we've been using this technology. "I'm very confident that we're using...

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles will begin issuing Choose Life license plates on July 1, 2009, using the 481 pre-paid applications submitted by State Senator Ken Cuccinelli. Anticipating fabulous demand for the Choose Life plate, DMV and plate sponsor Richmond Coalition for Life encourage Virginia citizens who have not applied to apply directly on the DMV website starting July 2. The Richmond Coalition for Life (P.O. Box 17902 Richmond, VA 23226-7902) will however receive pre-paid applications, review them for completeness, and submit complete applications to DMV after the first week of July. The Choose Life Team expresses grateful appreciation...

Kelly Coffman-Lee wanted to tell the world about her love of tofu by picking the letters for her car's license plate. But her tofu fondness ran into a snafu at the Division of Motor Vehicles, which blocked her plan because they thought the combination of letters could be interpreted as profane. Her suggestion for the plate on her Suzuki: "ILVTOFU."

South Carolina plans license plate for Christians

RALEIGH -- Thanks to some text message-savvy grandchildren, North Carolina drivers whose license plates have the potentially offensive "WTF" letter combination can replace the tags for free. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Tuesday the state Division of Motor Vehicles has notified nearly 10,000 holders of license plates with the letter combination.

Honk if you love Hispanics. A license plate that touts "Hispanics Discovered Florida" may soon join the 109 specialty tags drivers can choose from. The idea to celebrate the contributions of Hispanics came from National Hispanic Corporate Achievers, a Longwood group that sponsors minority job fairs. The plate would become a fundraising tool to support job and mentorship programs. Danny Ramos, the group's president, said the tag's message is about cultural pride for Florida's 3.6 million Hispanics -- even if not all of Latin American or Spanish descent identify with the term.

RALEIGH -- Thanks to some text message-savvy grandchildren, North Carolina drivers whose license plates have the potentially offensive "WTF" letter combination can replace the tags for free. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Tuesday the state Division of Motor Vehicles has notified nearly 10,000 holders of license plates with the letter combination. Officials learned last year the common acronym stands for a vulgar phrase in e-mail and cell phone text messages. The DMV recently realized the same letters appeared on the sample license plate on its own Web site. Officials are trying to remove the plate from the site....

NORFOLKA Guatemalan national made it easy for illegal immigrants on the Eastern Shore to drive, according to the FBI. The FBI arrested Felipe Jesus Mazariegos-Perez at his home Tuesday on federal charges of buying hundreds of Tennessee and Mississippi license plates and car titles and selling them to immigrants who cannot prove their residency, as Virginia requires.The FBI raided Mazariegos-Perez's home in Nelsonia, Accomack County, on Tuesday morning, looking for the out-of-state plates and titles. He was arrested and taken into U.S. District Court that afternoon, where a magistrate ordered him jailed pending a bond hearing Thursday.Mazariegos-Perez, speaking through an...

Lawmaker wants 'I believe' license platesPosted on Fri, Apr. 11, 2008 BY GARY FINEOUT gfineout@MiamiHerald.com The new "I Believe" Florida license plate. TALLAHASSEE -- Honk if you love Jesus. It might become more than just a bumper sticker in Florida. The Florida Legislature may create a new license plate that features the words ''I Believe'' and the image of a cross in front of a church stained glass window. The measure is moving in both the House and Senate. Rep. Ed Bullard, a Miami Democrat and a sponsor of the license plate, conceded that ''some people'' may find something wrong...

(Representative) Brown says it would give motorists a way to show pride in their heritage, but that flag represents a heritage of treason, bigotry, hostility, division and an overall ugly time in American history. No way should his plate proposal become No. 110.

Some things that are blatantly offensive, such as a Nazi swastika, incite a visceral reaction. The Confederate flag is one of them, too. It's a symbol of a time when our nation was split into two warring factions. The Confederates, the folks who advocated slavery, lost.

The controversial stars and bars of the Confederate Flag could soon find their way to Florida license plates. State Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, has worked with the Sons of Confederate Veterans to sponsor a bill that would allow the group to create a non-profit license plate that bears the Dixie flag. The tag would cost roughly $25 from the Department of Motor Vehicles. SCV Executive Director Ben Sewell said his organization has been successful in the past at getting the license plates in numerous states and feels they’ve met the requirements in the state of Florida to acquire the...