Free Republic

Arkansas state Senator Stephanie Flowers captivated the international news media with her fiery attack on “Stand Your Ground” legislation, which guarantees the right to defend oneself without retreating as far as possible. Author Joyce Carol Oates took inspiration from Flowers’ comments, lauding her as “astonishing/courageous.” Actress Sarah Silverman hailed her as a “hero,” saying that her “face should be on money.” Other women took inspiration from her refusal “to be silenced, intimidated, or victimized by the systems that govern our societies. Especially to women who come from historically traumatized, disenfranchised, & dehumanized communities.”Flowers was very upset by “how many black kids,...

Toilet paper holders. Cup holders. Cigar Holders. Various holders do an excellent job of "holding." Eric Holder is a U.S. attorney general who is ironically failing to live up to his name and uphold the law. Most recently, Holder disparaged 92 years of U.S. Supreme Court precedent regarding so-called “stand your ground” laws. Holder has been Obama’s attorney general for well over four years, and he has never made a public statement about "stand your ground" laws. Suddenly, last week, as Zimmerman trial verdict protesters called for the abolishment of Florida’s stand-your-ground law, he decided to end his silence. Holder...

Nanny plutocrat extraordinaire, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has targeted yet another new windmill for his quixotic conquest besides the scourges of big bad sodas, trans-fats, salt, and elevators. Now he’s going after the Stand Your Ground or No Retreat laws to have them overturned. Hizzonor disparagingly refers to such laws as “Shoot First Laws.” From Bloomberg’s perspective such laws, “…can inspire dangerous vigilantism and protect those who act recklessly with guns,” adding that they, “…encourage deadly confrontations by enabling people to shoot first and argue ‘justifiable homicide’ later.” Got that? Apparently, the Mayor of New York City believes that the bad...