Free Republic

O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as...

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) -- A northeastern Pennsylvania woman who marketed "gothic kittens" with ear and neck piercings over the Internet has been convicted of animal cruelty. A Luzerne County jury on Wednesday convicted 35-year-old dog groomer Holly Crawford of one misdemeanor count and one summary count of animal cruelty, but acquitted her on two separate counts. She will be sentenced March 31.

A teenage boy died of blood poisoning after getting his lip pierced, an inquest was told yesterday. Daniel Hindle, 17, an A-level student from Richmond, Sheffield, had a ring put through his lip and his girlfriend had her eyebrow pierced. His mother, Christine Anderson, broke down in the witness box as she told the inquest in Sheffield that the first she knew about the piercing was when her son walked through the door. "My first reaction was shock. 'Eurgh,' I thought. I suppose it's a normal motherly reaction." Mrs Anderson said she called a doctor when he developed a fever...

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Rebellious teenagers may soon have another reason to curse the establishment now that a lawmaker wants to add Washington to the list of states that require parental permission before minors can pierce a body part. Some professional piercers have taken advantage of loose regulations in more than a dozen states that let youngsters come home with a tongue stud, navel ring or pierced eyebrow without approval from Mom or Dad. "We have teens coming in here who have issues, their piercings are all infected," said Jacob Willardsen, the main piercer at House of Tattoo in Tacoma....

As the GOP wrapped up Day Two of its confab last night, the hate-and- anarchy crowd began to get uppity, with protesters resisting and assualting cops. Hundreds were arrested. As well they have should been. As of early last night, it was unclear where all this would lead. But even by Monday, things had already gotten bloody. A mob of lowlifes pummeled one cop at the end of a protest by the so-called Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign — a protest that, inexplicably, was allowed to take place despite a lack of proper permits. The officer, who was hospitalized...

MTV tries it's hand at damage control, but fails miserablyMTV has rather deftly changed it's text on it's Super Bowl page from the text originally up there (and touted by news programs and websites everywhere:Janet Jackson Got Nasty at the MTV-Produced Super Bowl Halftime Show Jaws across the country hit the carpet at exactly the same time. You know what we're talking about...Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and a kinky finale that rocked the Super Bowl to its core. P. Diddy, Kid Rock, & Nelly rounded out the halftime show in the midst of the greatest game on earth. MTV was...