Free Republic

...the most interesting part of liberal writer George Packer’s widely noticed recent Atlantic essay, “When the Culture War Comes for the Kids.” The article details his dismay at the identity politics/standards-shredding orthodoxy that has overtaken New York’s public schools under leftist Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Is he still a candidate for president, by the way? I’ve lost track. . .) Packer here sounds like a late-60s liberal who is about to move to a New York suburb for better schools for his kids. Worth reading the whole thing if you have time, but the interesting part to me begins in...

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - The Essex County Freeholders called for the ouster of the New Jersey Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson but have not budged on ending its controversial contract with the agency. At its Wednesday meeting in Maplewood, the freeholders board passed a resolution supporting other lawmakers who have called for Emilio Karim Dabul to be terminated from his position as ICE spokesperson. Dabul has publicly defended people who the Southern Poverty Law Center have labeled anti-Muslim. Dabul referred questions to ICE headquarters in Washington D.C. A spokesperson from headquarters responded with a brief statement, which included a link...

MAPLEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — An arrest was made Sunday in a sexual assault and home invasion that rocked a quiet New Jersey town. Police said 40-year-old Muhammad Sharif of Irvington was taken into custody on Saturday, eventually arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and burglary.

MAPLEWOOD, New Jersey (WABC) -- Police in New Jersey are searching for a suspect and warning residents after a young woman was followed home and sexually assaulted. The home invasion and assault happened around 11:30 a.m. in Maplewood. Authorities say the preliminary investigation indicates that the man followed the victim home, forced his way into her house and sexually assaulted her. She was transported to an area hospital, where she was treated and released. The suspect remains at large.

A New Jersey board of education member is facing a call to resign Wednesday after video surfaced purportedly showing her trying to “manipulate” a police officer by exercising “civic privilege” after she was pulled over for speeding. The woman in the April 27 dash-cam video, who identifies herself as Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad, a South Orange and Maplewood Board of Education member, also is heard telling one of the town’s officers that she is “scared of cops because you guys hurt black people,” before calling the cop's boss a “skinhead.”... “Ma’am, do you want me to call an ambulance?” Horst asks her....

If you live in New York City and are at a stage in your life when you're contemplating a move to the suburbs (or your friends have begun to leave the city en masse), you've probably heard of at least one of these towns in Essex County: Montclair, Maplewood, and Glen Ridge. That's because these three spots, all accessible via New Jersey Transit trains, are eternally popular among NYC expats looking for more space and a little more greenspace for their green. "We have a lot of people coming from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey City and Hoboken," says Stacie Levy of...

SOUTH ORANGE -- Police plan to boost patrols after officers from several departments were needed to disperse at least 300 young people who gathered in downtown South Orange late Saturday, sparking fights and blocking traffic. South Orange Police Chief Kyle Kroll said Tuesday the crowd contained a mix of village teens and others from nearby communities, including Newark, East Orange and Irvington residents, who apparently arrived by public transportation. The unruly crowd formed around 8 p.m. and kept officers busy until around midnight, according to police. Kroll said he requested assistance from the Essex County Sheriff's Office, Maplewood and Orange...

A New Jersey boy has become the first openly transgender member of the Boy Scouts. Just one week after the Boy Scouts of America changed its policy to allow transgender children to join, Joe Maldonado donned his uniform as the newest member of Pack 20 in Maplewood. 'I am accepted,' said the nine-year-old on Tuesday night, as his mother fought back tears. The youngster had previously been banned from Pack 87 in Secaucus because his birth certificate stated that he was born a girl.

MAPLEWOOD -- Matt Carmel is a card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association who lives here, a left-leaning suburban basin with annual "Be About Peace" days. He has had polite differences of opinion over the years, evidenced by signs on his front lawn reading "I’m the NRA and I Vote." But now he’s really miffed. Carmel, a licensed gun dealer, applied to sponsor a team in the local Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken baseball league, using the name of his business — Constitution Arms. He was rebuffed.

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. - Arrangements have been made for a traditional, three-day Hmong funeral for Pfc. Kham Xiong of St. Paul who was among 13 people killed in the Fort Hood Army Base shootings. The funeral service for Xiong will start at Legacy Funeral Home's Maplewood chapel starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28. The service will run through the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 30. Xiong will then be buried with military honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. "Pfc. Kham Xiong came to America from Thailand as a small child," President Barack Obama said during a memorial service at Fort...

Arguments are scheduled Monday in the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia on a school district's decision to censor Christmas carols – even holiday melodies without words. Attorneys with the Thomas More Law Center say they will argue to reverse a lower court ruling affirming a policy in the South Orange-Maplewood School District that banned the music after someone complained. The law firm says the school's ban was specifically aimed at preventing Christmas music, including simple instrumentals without words, during holiday concernts. The district had allowed the performance of traditional Christmas music for more than 60 years but...

Every afternoon at Maplewood Middle School’s final bell, dozens of students pour across Baker Street to the public library. Some study quietly. Others, library officials say, fight, urinate on the bathroom floor, scrawl graffiti on the walls, talk back to librarians or refuse to leave when asked. One recently threatened to burn down the branch library. Librarians call the police, sometimes twice a day. As a result, starting on Jan. 16, the Maplewood Memorial Library will be closing its two buildings on weekdays from 2:45 to 5 p.m., until further notice. An institution that, like many nationwide, strives to attract...

(AP) WASHINGTON President George W. Bush will appear in Minnesota Thursday to tout initiatives in his State of the Union speech, a White House spokesman confirmed Monday. The spokesman, Allen Abney, said that Bush will be speaking at an event in Maplewood, Minn. He did not have the time or other details of the event. Bush plans to discuss health care, energy and education initiatives in Tuesday's speech. Bush will travel to Nashville, Tenn. on Wednesday, and New Mexico and Texas on Friday.

Far removed from the grandeur of the U.S. Supreme Court is Tiffany's Diner in Maplewood. It's an old-fashioned place where breakfast is served 24 hours a day. During the non-rush hours, customers sit at the counter - 18 stools - and a quiet, peaceful mood prevails. During the busy times, which is to say late night/early morning when the bars close, patrons cram into the place, often standing shoulder to shoulder. The jukebox blares. Eleven plays for a dollar. I stopped by Tuesday afternoon. Janet Baker was behind the counter. She has worked at the diner for 25 years. That...

Columbia High School, Parker Avenue, Maplewood, NJhttp://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/admin.htm Having heard about the event on the Free Republic I decided to go down and check out the action and participate in the “illegal” rally singing those “illegal” religious songs.  I arrived about 5:00 PM the time it was supposed to start and joined in the crowd, about 100 people, which was already singing Christmas Carols.  We were standing in the middle of the road in front of the school where the police had blocked off the street with barricades and police cars and about 5 police were there for crowd control.  It...

Anti-Christmas district hit with federal lawsuitSchool officials banned carols, even for instrumental groups December 20, 2004The New Jersey school district that banned Christmas music, even by instrumental groups, from its holiday concerts has been hit with a lawsuit claiming officials have demonstrated hostility toward religion. Thomas More Law Center filed a federal lawsuit Friday on behalf of Michael Stratechuk and his two children, who are students in the South Orange/Maplewood School District. According to a statement from Thomas More, the suit claims the district's action is unconstitutional. As WorldNetDaily reported, this year the district expanded its no-Christmas music policy to...

A Republican in the blue state of New Jersey is bucking what some decry as a national trend to eradicate all traces of religion in public places. Steve Lonegan, who is running for the Republican nomination for New Jersey governor, is defying a school-district edict that bans religious music from holiday-season celebrations this year. Mr. Lonegan has asked local residents of all religions to join him at 5 p.m. tomorrow "to sing and listen to" songs such as George Frederick Handel's "Messiah" and "Silent Night," which have been banned from schools, even in instrumental form, by the South Orange/Maplewood School...