Free Republic

Williams was actually trying to honor a vet in this "lie". But a group of other vets got butthurt that he didn't recognize them instead, and went viral. Most of the "heroes" in these wars since 9/11 are a bunch of self absorbed dysfunctional losers who joined because WalMart turned down their application. And now they're back home living with mom, going to the VA weekly for counseling, and sucking on the gov't tit.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Greg McNeilly occupies the chasm dividing gay rights activists and conservative Republicans. The GOP strategist unabashedly claims membership in the two groups that have been on opposite sides of the battle over legalizing gay marriage. McNeilly's marriage to Lansing attorney Doug Meeks is one of 300 that will now be recognized by the state following a federal court injunction, and Gov. Rick Snyder's decision not to appeal the decision. Savoring the legal victory is difficult for McNeilly when thousands of same sex couples can not be married or have their marriages recognized in this state. The...

“She is my hero,” Nugent said of the former half-term Alaska governor. “Sarah Palin is the perfect example of what our Founding Fathers envisioned for an experiment in self-government.” http://radio.foxnews.com/2015/02/06/ted-nugent-sarah-palin-perfect-example-of-what-founding-fathers-wanted/

A study paid for by the Michigan Corn Growers Association was recently reported in the news media as though it had been conducted independently. This public relations coup for the ethanol industry was pulled off by touting it as “a Michigan State University study” and omitting the fact that it was done on behalf of the Michigan Corn Growers Association. Reporters then assumed it was an academic study conducted independently of the ethanol industry. On Dec. 17, Michigan Capitol Confidential asked MSU spokesman Jason Cody if the study “Greenhouse Gas Reduction in Michigan Due to Ethanol Fuel Use,” was an...

In a sometimes heated meeting with Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., several House Democrats expressed anger Wednesday over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s acceptance of a Republican invitation to address Congress next month. Some of the seven lawmakers—all of whom are Jewish and strong supporters of Israel—urged the prime minister to postpone the speech or hold it somewhere other than Congress, participants said. They told Ambassador Ron Dermer that Netanyahu was unwise to accept a GOP invitation that bypassed President Barack Obama, and to schedule the speech only two weeks before Netanyahu seeks another term in Israel’s elections. The meeting’s purpose...

DETROIT, MI, February 4, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- A former contractor with Ford Motor Company has sued, saying the auto giant and contracting firm RGBSI violated his civil rights when he was fired for his religious opposition to same-sex "marriage."In a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and provided to LifeSiteNews, Thomas Banks said that he was fired after commenting on Ford's policy related to same-sex relationships. According to Banks, Ford invited employees to comment on the policy, which Banks -- who was an employee of RGBSI at the time -- did.Within two weeks, Banks had met with a...

Newly hired University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh will make three times as much money if his football players hit their academic goals than if Harbaugh is named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. MLive did a story on Harbaugh’s contract that states the coach will earn $150,000 if the players hit certain academic bench marks. Harbaugh will get $50,000 if he’s picked as the league’s top coach. The academic bonus is 3 percent of Harbaugh’s $5 million annual salary. ForTheRecord says: Ann Arbor Public Schools teachers who are evaluated and given the highest rating of “highly effective”...

Ann Arbor might be on its way to becoming the solar capital of Michigan. The Ann Arbor City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve a deal with DTE Energy to construct the largest solar array in the state on a 14-acre site at the city's airport. The decision came following a brief discussion with no objections raised by any of the 11 council members. "This is an exciting effort," said Mayor Christopher Taylor. "I'm so glad that we're moving forward with it. Having the largest solar field in Michigan is going to be an important thing for the city...

LATHRUP VILLAGE — According to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, the state has suspended the license of a local clinic where abortions are performed after authorities discovered several health code violations. On Nov. 21, Women’s Center of Southfield, located at 28505 Southfield Road in Lathrup Village, had its surgical outpatient facility license suspended for violating seven health codes, according to state officials. According to a document sent to the facility by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, the center failed to maintain a sterile facility and inform a patient of risks, consent or complications of a procedure. Workers allegedly...

A group of more than a hundred gathered in front of Ann Arbor's Justice Center and City Hall Saturday at 4:30 p.m. to protest Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie's decision to not charge police officer David Ried in the fatal shooting of 40-year-old Aura Rosser. Monique Barker was the first to speak to the crowd through a megaphone outside 310 East Huron Street, which houses City Hall, the 15th District Court and the Ann Arbor Police Department. "You can pretend that she deserved to die or that her life doesn't matter, so long as you're a cop or a racist...

The National Weather Service in Detroit/Pontiac has issued a winter storm warning that includes Monroe County for the time frame of 1 a.m. Sunday Feb. 1 to 7 a.m. Monday Feb. 2. RELATED: Pre-Groundhog Day snowstorm to sweep from Chicago to NYC The forecast is for "moderate to occasionally heavy snow," beginning late tonight and persisting through sunrise Monday. Accumulations of more than 8 inches of snow are likely "with the potential of up to 12 inches near the Ohio border," the warning that was issued at 4 p.m. today said. There also is the likelihood of blowing and drifting...

After the 2014 midterm elections, a lame-duck session of lawmakers got together to strike one final blow against the citizens of Michigan who voted them out. They are pushing for a new tax reform that would tie Michigan for having the second-highest state sales tax in the country at 7 percent. The lawmakers claim that the revenue is needed to fund government services like and local schools and roads despite the fact that it would also double Michigan’s fuel tax, making it the highest in the country. For the sake of the Great Lake State’s economy, Michiganders should reject such...

Medical retainer agreements between physicians and patients will not be considered “insurance” in Michigan under a recently passed bill signed into law on Jan. 15 by Gov. Rick Snyder. The idea is to ensure that this innovative way for families to obtain routine medical services at lower costs will not be stifled by the extensive state regulatory structure currently imposed on conventional health insurance policies that cover expensive non-routine care. The rationale for this alternative is that while insurance coverage may be advisable for catastrophic illnesses and injuries, it makes less sense as a way to pay for routine primary...

When Mike LaFaive visited the Michigan Liquor Control Commission's Lansing office in the course of research he was doing, he asked an employee for copies of a spreadsheet and some other public records. The staffer responded that the information could be provided that day if he had a flash drive. Circumstances did not permit this, so LaFaive, the fiscal policy director of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, later submitted a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request asking for the records. The state agency then told him that if he wanted the information, he would have to pay $1,500 to cover...

Ten Senate Democrats warned the White House in a letter Tuesday that they will support legislation imposing new sanctions on Iran if a framework to roll back the country’s nuclear program isn’t reached within two months. "In acknowledgement of your concern regarding congressional action on legislation at this moment, we will not vote for this legislation on the Senate floor before March 24," said the letter, led by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who is the co-author of Iran sanctions legislation. "After March 24, we will only vote for this legislation on the Senate floor if Iran fails to reach agreement...

U.N. gives mixed signals on Tehran cooperation as nuclear talks intensifySenate Democrats on Tuesday backed away from a bipartisan push for immediate new sanctions on Iran, bowing to President Obama’s call not to undercut international talks to get Tehran to curb its nuclear programs in the coming weeks. The shift, announced Tuesday by Sen. Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat and one of the party’s outspoken hawks on Iran, came amid a series of mixed signals from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency over the question of whether Tehran was honoring promises to put its suspect nuclear programs on hold as...

Everyone involved seems to be trying to put the best face on it, but Barack Obama went so far as to suggest senior Democrats like Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who take a hard line on Iran, are doing so purely to appease their donors. Obama said that as a former senator himself, he understood how outside forces — like special interests and donors — can influence senators to act, one of the senators recounted.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A heated exchanged between President Barack Obama and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) broke out Thursday over whether the U.S. should reimpose sanctions on Iran amid ongoing negotiations over the country's nuclear program, according to two senators who were in the room. Menendez, the leading Democrat pushing for additional sanctions against Iran, forcefully pressed Obama on the need for additional sanctions during a meeting in which Obama urged Menendez and other senators to drop their efforts to pass sanctions legislation. Additional sanctions, Obama argued, could torpedo ongoing negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. The unusually sharp exchange, between...

Menendez: Obama Admin Statements on Iran 'Sound like Talking Points Straight out of Tehran'

Declaring herself "broken" and "disgraced," former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway tearfully took responsibility for fraud Tuesday before a judge sentenced her to a year and a day in prison for concealing assets while she was pleading with a bank for a sale on her underwater home. But U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara rejected community service and instead chose prison. Crying and reading from a statement, Hathaway, 59, blamed her crime on "personal issues" but added: "That is no excuse." The 2011 sale of Hathaway's Grosse Pointe Park home, near Detroit, erased the balance of her mortgage, $664,000....