Free Republic

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Some might call Karl Hirsch a hero. A Fort Lauderdale cop, Hirsch used his patrol cruiser to help stop a moving car that had two little girls in the backseat and no driver. But instead of praise, Hirsch got a 20-hour unpaid suspension. The Jan. 26 incident caused no injuries, but triggered an Internal Affairs investigation ordered by Police Chief Patrick Lynn. On May 24, Internal Affairs investigators notified Hirsch he was being investigated for potentially violating department policy by “carelessly, negligently or intentionally causing waste, loss or damage to any city property.” In the process...

Colorado police on Friday explained how a heroic bystander who had just shot and killed a cop-hating gunman was himself fatally struck by a responding officer. Johnny Hurley, 40, was shopping in downtown Arvada, a Denver suburb, when he heard Ronald Troyke ambush and murder Officer Gordon Beesley, who was responding to a call Monday afternoon, officials said. Troyke, 59, then returned to his truck to grab an AR-15, and was holding it when Hurley — who was carrying a concealed weapon — confronted him and shot him dead, Police Chief Link Strate said in a video clip posted Friday....

Emily James worked as a senior banker at a U.S. Bank call center in Portland when she received a call from a customer last month whose paycheck had been placed on hold, James worked to help Marc Eugenio, a Clackamas resident, get access to the more than $1,000 that should have been in his account before telling him to go to his local bank the next day to get the money cleared by a manager. The following day, on Christmas Eve, Eugenio visited his local branch but because of the holiday, no one was able to help him. A devasted...

The suspect in a synagogue vandalism act that forced the cancellation of a Democratic event is reportedly a former City Hall employee who worked on anti-hate crime issues and is a Democratic activist, The Daily Caller News Foundation has learned. The New York Times and a Jewish couple helped the impoverished gay black man attend college where he studied African American studies, according to The Times. He resented New York liberals as patronizing, and railed against Israel and cultural appropriation, according to his Facebook profile. Before knowing his identity, politicians said the vandalism demonstrated why voting Democratic was needed and...

Sovereign Debt Crisis: For many Americans, the EU's trillion-dollar bailout of Greece and other troubled European welfare states is probably of little concern. But they should know that they are going to help pay for it. Much of the media coverage has centered on the "European Union" bailout of its members. But the fact is, the U.S. is playing a much larger role in this than many realize - from strategizing to financing. As a New York Times headline noted Monday, the EU agreed to its $1 trillion rescue only after "nudge from Washington." President Obama, we're told, phoned German...

Two Denver men said their efforts to be good citizens cost them their jobs. Paul Shoemaker and Mike McGee... were fired from the Sprint store inside the Cherry Creek Mall after chasing a suspected shoplifter. The two claim they were walking out of the store when they stumbled upon a security guard in the hall, clearly in need. "(He) came right basically in front of us, and was like, 'Help me, Help me.' Out of breath. You could totally hear he was distraught," said Shoemaker...from the Apple store. "It's the way I was raised as a kid. You see something...

A heroic homeless man, stabbed after saving a Queens woman from a knife-wielding attacker, lay dying in a pool of blood for more than an hour as nearly 25 people indifferently strolled past him, a shocking surveillance video obtained by The Post reveals. Some of the passers-by paused to stare at Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax last Sunday morning and others leaned down to look at his face. He had jumped to the aid of a woman attacked on 144th Street at 88th Road in Jamaica at 5:40 a.m., was stabbed several times in the chest and collapsed as he chased his...

Anger built Saturday at Haiti's US-controlled main airport, where aid flights were still being turned away and poor coordination continued to hamper the relief effort four days on. "Let's take over the runway," shouted one voice. "We need to send a message to (US President Barack) Obama," cried another. Control remained in the hands of US forces, who face criticism for the continued disarray at the overwhelmed airfield.

Racial tension has been building at Owatonna High School this week after a fight broke out Monday between white and Somali students, prompting heightened police presence, backpack searches and widespread parental worries. Owatonna Police Chief Shaun LaDue said between six and 15 officers have been assigned this week to the school, which usually uses one liaison officer. Principal Don Johnson said the problems began when two white students wrote papers in recent weeks that were "inflammatory and very disrespectful." One student handed out copies of his paper to friends, while the other posted his on a class blog. Both were...

Mark Tijssen, a major in the Canadian military, stands in front of a meat smoker containing the remains of a pig that could cost him thousands of dollars in fines. Tijssen's family home was raided by members of the Intelligence and Investigations Section of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ottawa Police last month while he was preparing a pizza dinner for children on a Friday night. Mark Tijssen's family has been slaughtering their own animals and handing that skill from father to son for at least three generations. But changes to Ontario's Food Safety Act has landed him and...

GRIFFIN, Ga. (MyFOX ATLANTA) - A former bank manager said Thursday that a life or death decision got him fired. The manager said he pulled a gun on a bank robber and fired shots at him, forcing the robber to flee. Police credited the manager's actions to the arrest of the suspect William Hunt. Wesley Hallman said it was common knowledge that he carried a pistol. The former manger said he felt safer with the gun when he opened the bank. Hallman said when he saw a would-be robber holding a gun in an employee's face, he challenged the man...

Congressman Robert Aderholt Republican from Alabama voted against the financial bail out bill both times it was presented in the House. Part of the reason he gave for his vote was the overwhelming majority of his constituents were opposed to the bill. Upon learning he had dared to listen to his constituents the left leaning Decatur Daily blasted him in an editorial, suggesting constituents opinions should NOT be a consideration in his decision on how to vote ! What kind of nation would we have if all those elected officials in Washington stopped listening to, nor valued the opinion of...

GIG HARBOR, Wash. -- A Pierce County High School student is back in school after a three-day suspension for warning classmates about a sex offender on campus. Last week, Raydon Gilmore found a 16-year-old fellow student at Gig Harbor High School at the Washington State Sex Offender Information Center, a Web site that lists the state's level 2 and level 3 sex offenders. "Then it hit me that I was in P.E. freshman year, and this kid was there for a while and he was my neighbor at my locker," Gilmore told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News. The 16-year-old was convicted...

This is the most important book you’ll buy this year: To Set The Record Straight, How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry, by Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler, with Forward by John O'Neill. Not only will you learn the inside details of the only book – Unfit For Command -- that ever decided a presidential election but, especially for those who have any doubts, you will learn about how the peoples' democracy can still work in the United States. For those inclined toward political science, the book is an important contribution to understanding how political...

Attorneys for the Metropolitan Airports Commission and U.S. Airways pushed their case in the Minneapolis federal court Tuesday against six Imams kicked off a flight. The lawyers for MAC and U.S. Airways asked the judge to throw out the Imams’ lawsuit against them. From there, the judge will decided whether to dismiss the entire lawsuit, allow parts of it to go forward, or to approve the entire case for trial. All six Muslim leaders were kicked off a November flight after some passengers said they were acting suspiciously. The Imams were released after being questioned by the FBI and the...

-After county won't test victim's blood for viruses, good samaritan left wondering if she was infected- When Wendy Lee saw a man get hit by a truck that night in May, she had no second thoughts about what she should do. Lee stopped her Suburban to help 64-year-old Juan Vega, who had been trying to cross Williamson County Road 172 near La Frontera in Round Rock when he was struck by a 2000 Chevrolet pickup. Lee said she could see Vega's cowboy boots lying in the road. "I called 911 as I was walking up to him, and they walked...

Japan's embattled defense minister resigned Tuesday over his comments suggesting the 1945 atomic bombings Hiroshima and Nagasaki were inevitable, news reports said. Fumio Kyuma had come under intense criticism from survivors of the bombing following the comments made over the weekend. He had apologized. Broadcaster NHK and NTV carried news of the resignation.

Do you remember the ridiculous story we were talking about yesterday, about the apartment employee in Jacksonville? Well here is the link to the news article. Colin Bruley worked for an apartment complex in Jacksonville, FL. He also happened to live in the complex. At 2AM, he heard a woman scream. He grabbed his shotgun and went outside to help the woman. Not knowing where the shooter was ... whether the shooter might come out of an apartment door at any time with his gun .. Bruley and some other residents took care of the screaming woman they found covered...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVASION USA Congressmen appeal to Justice for border agents As prison sentences loom, Republican lawmakers petition attorney general -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: January 10, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez As two border patrol agents face the commencement of prison terms for shooting and wounding a man smuggling drugs into the U.S, five congressman are calling on Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to intervene. The lawmakers have asked President Bush to pardon Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos, who were sentenced to 12 years and 11 years, respectively, in October. But the sentences are scheduled to begin...

Man did not rescue child for fear of 'pervert' slur ALEX CORNELIUS A BRICKLAYER who passed a toddler walking alone in a village shortly before her fatal fall into a pond said yesterday he did not stop to help in case people thought he was trying to abduct her. Clive Peachey, from Cornwall, told an inquest jury in Stratford-upon-Avon that he had passed two-year-old girl, Abby Rae, in his van shortly after 10am on 28 November, 2002. This was just moments after the toddler disappeared from the Ready Teddy Go nursery in the Warwickshire village of Lower Brailes, according to...