Free Republic

Police were called to a church in St. Louis this morning for crowd control after an unexpectedly large crowd gathered on rumors of applying for $500 food vouchers. St. Louis police spokesman Dave Marzullo initially said police had responded to crowds at a blood drive but later corrected that statement. Howard Walker, an administrator at St. Louis Powerhouse Church, and also a representative for Advanced Marketing Promotions, LLC, said the hundreds of people gathered for the event at the church, were tempted by the chance at the vouchers...

LAGOS, Nigeria — Protesters furious over spiraling gas prices set fires on an expressway Tuesday and at least one person was killed in the violent unrest after Nigeria's government did away with a subsidy program that had kept fuel costs down for more than two decades. One union leader described the federal government's hugely unpopular move as "immoral and politically suicidal," and urged Nigerians to resist "with everything they have." But Tuesday's protest showed that, once unleashed, the pent-up anger of the masses could be hard to curtail. Angry crowds vandalized gas stations, intimidated owners into keeping their pumps unused...

Hundreds gather downtown to rally against cuts to government programsBy: Scott Newell, newsnet5.com Last Updated: 1 hour and 25 minutes ago CLEVELAND - A couple hundred protesters, worried about looming cuts to social programs, loudly raised their voices in Cleveland today, shouting, "No cuts now, no cuts ever." They are worried about cuts to some programs that have become staples for Americans: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. "This is a promise that our government has made to the American people, said protester Wynne Antonio. “They worked in good faith all their lives and paid in to these systems and they...

In an address to Members of Congress and participants attending a Congressional Black Caucus meeting, Robert L. Johnson, founder and chairman of The RLJ Companies, called for a national discussion about the growing wealth gap which he referred to as a "wealth gap Tsunami threatening African American families." He cited the recent Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University study, among other studies, which conclude "the wealth gap between white and African American families has more than quadrupled over the course of a generation; the racial wealth gap increased by $75,000, from $20,000 to $95,000; and, at least...

Frustrated that federal lawmakers have stalled funding proposals aimed at staving off nationwide teacher layoffs and creating jobs, the NAACP and labor leaders are planning a massive protest march in Washington, D.C. The planned "One Nation" march -- which is themed "Hope, Not Hate" -- will be a "forceful reminder to Congress" that the majority of voters who elected President Obama are still out there -- and they're still concerned about creating jobs, immigration reform and making sure minorities get a fair share of stimulus funding.

Scuffles erupted as several thousand Detroit residents jockeyed, pushed and shoved Wednesday to get free money being offered to only 3,500 of the city's recently or soon to be homeless. (Oct. 7)

Unbelievable. Houston taxpayers could start footing the bill to help first-time homebuyers pay off debts and improve their credit scores, under a proposal before City Council this week.The “Credit Score Enhancement Program” will give up to $3,000 in grants to individuals who are trying to qualify for mortgages through the city’s homebuyers assistance program. City officials say some applicants fall short of eligibility by only 10 or 20 points on their credit scores, and paying off some debt balances can quickly improve their numbers. Want to know how dumb this is? The Chron.com article doesn’t mention the sponsor of this...

Police in Baltimore today made what is believed to be the first arrest in a civil disobedience program aimed at supporting homeowners who refuse to vacate their foreclosed homes. An activist with ACORN — the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now — faces criminal charges after breaking into a home in southeast Baltimore on Thursday to protest the foreclosure crisis sweeping the country.

NEW ORLEANS -- The scene outside New Orleans' City Hall boiled on the brink of a riot Thursday as protesters stormed the gate and were met with police spraying mace and firing Tasers. Protesters broke through the gates outside City Hall shortly after 11 a.m. Click Here: Council Chaos Livestream A woman identified by bystanders as Jamie Bork Laughner, was sprayed and dragged away from the gates. She was taken away on a stretcher by emergency officials on the scene. Before that, she was seen pouring water from a bottle into her eyes and weeping. The first brawl of the...

Robert Rector of The Heritage Foundation is a national authority on poverty and the U.S. welfare system. Specializing in welfare reform and family breakdown, Rector has done extensive research on the economic and social costs of welfare. Q: John Edwards and others lament that 37 million Americans struggle with incredible poverty every day. You say it is not so simple or accurate to think of them as truly poor. What do you mean? A: Well, when John Edwards says that one in eight Americans do not have enough money for food, shelter or clothing, that’s generally what the average citizen...

Last year, more than 7 million American people -- that’s about one in every 32 adults -- were behind bars, on probation or parole. The United States has, for years, imprisoned more people than any other country in the world. Yet, we don’t have the highest literacy rate.... (snip) Inner-city schools fail half of their students, and jobs are removed from communities, replaced with guns and drugs, resulting in incarceration, if you’re lucky; death if you’re not. Nonetheless, many U.S. states have cut their education budgets to compensate for rapid growth in prison populations and prison construction. The misguided priorities...

In large Red Cross shelters, where most volunteers were white, the mostly minority evacuees "felt like they were being herded like cattle," said Rev. Anthony Evans of the National Black Church Initiative. In the aftermath of the storms, minority evacuees said they encountered many problems in Red Cross shelters. Evacuees who spoke little or no English -- Hispanic and Asian immigrants along the Gulf Coast, as well as French-speaking members of the Houma United Nation tribe in Louisiana -- struggled to make themselves understood because there were so few translators. Some minority groups complained that shelters were set up in...