Free Republic

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (Sept. 7) - A bartender who last week was left a $10,000 tip by a regular customer now has more than the excitement of the offer: she has the cash. Cindy Kienow received a check Tuesday from Applebee's franchise owner JS Ventures Inc. for about $6,300, her share of the tip after taxes. The customer gave Kienow the hefty tip Aug. 27 on a $26 meal. But since he paid by credit card, the restaurant wanted to make sure it was a valid charge before giving Kienow the money. "I've had a lot of fun," Kienow said of...

ADF Halts NC Gifted Program's End Run Around Parental Notification Under Litigation Threat, Governor's School Drops Plan to Show Teens Graphic Film (AgapePress) - The prestigious Governor's School of North Carolina (GSNC), a six-week residential summer program for academically and intellectually gifted high school students, is once again being accused of introducing sexually-oriented material to young people without their parents' knowledge. The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a nationwide pro-family legal defense alliance, reports that the GSNC was preparing to show students the sexually explicit film, American History X, as part of a "Race and Film" series, but decided not to...

Law enforcement may stop and detain drivers based on anonymous and uncorroborated tips that they were driving while intoxicated, the California Supreme Court decided 4-3 Monday. The state high court ruled that the California Highway Patrol acted legally when it pulled over a woman outside Bakersfield, even though its officer did not personally note any evidence of impaired driving. The officer was responding to a telephone tip that the van was weaving. The driver, Susan Wells, 49, failed a sobriety test and was arrested. A subsequent search of her van found heroin. She was sentenced to 16 months in prison...

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2006 – A suicide car bomber attacked a coalition convoy this morning in downtown Kandahar City in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, killing four Afghan civilians and wounding 12 others, military officials reported. Officials said a man driving a sport utility vehicle waited in an alley and pulled out as the convoy passed. The attacker detonated the explosives between two convoy vehicles, killing himself and causing slight damage to the convoy vehicles, but harming 16 Afghans civilians. Coalition forces and Afghan police responded to the scene of the blast, rendering first aid and evacuating the injured. "This is another...

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2006 – Afghan National Army and coalition forces confiscated a sizeable weapons cache in the Orgun District of Paktika Province yesterday after receiving a tip from an Afghan citizen, officials in Afghanistan reported today. A joint ANA and coalition patrol dispatched to the site and found the cache, which included 164 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, a large sack of heavy-machine-gun ammunition and a large number of RPG boosters. An explosive ordnance disposal team at the site inspected the munitions and turned them over to the ANA. "The Afghan who reported these dangerous munitions increased the safety and security...

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2006 – Terrorists blew up a new Iraqi police station under construction south of Baghdad yesterday, military officials reported. The explosion caused half of the building to collapse. Iraqi soldiers from 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, secured the site after the blast to prevent further damage. "Terrorists are attempting to prevent the rebuilding of the essential infrastructure," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, a Multinational Division Baghdad spokesman. "The police station is a sign of progress for the Iraqi people." Iraqi authorities are investigating the blast. In other news, a citizen's tip led Multinational Division...

Lawmaker's warning: Vote in New Orleans race could tip taxman U.S. actor/comedian Bill Cosby makes a face during a rally for voting rights of displaced residents in New Orleans April 1, 2006. Many citizens scattered across the country since Hurricane Katrina may be unable to vote in the city's April 22 mayoral election, according to rally organizers. REUTERS/Lee Celano BATON ROUGE, La. When New Orleans residents scattered about the country by Hurricane Katrina cast their ballots in the mayor's race, they'll be giving state tax collectors a way to locate them. One Louisiana lawmaker says he wants people to know...

Waiter, there's a service charge on my soup. Customers at a high-end Manhattan restaurant soon will notice an extra expense when they get their bill, and not only for their soup course. Beginning Thursday, chef Thomas Keller will charge customers a 20 percent service fee at Per Se, his year-old outpost in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, where the views of Central Park are nearly as breathtaking as the prices.

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Multi-national ground forces, acting on an Iraqi tip, discovered and destroyed a large cache of artillery shells in the early hours of Aug. 16. The shells were apparently intended for use as improvised explosive devices. An explosive ordinance disposal technician advised that the 25 to 30 individual 152mm rounds located inside a building within Al Anbar province be destroyed. Security forces confirmed there were no friendly or enemy personnel in the building. Security forces destroyed the building and its contents with an air strike after ensuring all non-combatants were clear of the area. Secondary explosions were observed....

January 29, 2005 Release Number: 05-01-112 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ANOTHER CITIZEN'S TIP LEADS TO DEFUSING OF BOMBMOSUL, IRAQ -- Multi-National Forces from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) were able to defuse a roadside bomb following a tip received through the Joint Coordination Center in northern Iraq Jan. 28. The tip came from an Iraqi citizen who had called the Joint Coordination Center to inform them of the bomb planted in northeastern Mosul. Only four days ago another tip in the same area resulted in a roadside bomb being defused. These types of courageous acts demonstrate the...

DAY OF INFAMY 2001 - Official: Kerry failed to act on pre-9/11 tip 3rd agent to say he warned security lapses made Boston airport ripe for 'jihad' attack Posted: March 19, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Paul Sperry © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com WASHINGTON – A third federal aviation-security agent, one still with the government, has stepped forward to say he also warned Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry about security lapses at Boston's Logan International Airport before the 9-11 hijackings there. Earlier this week, two former FAA agents said the Democratic presidential hopeful failed to take effective action after they gave him a...

The Children, the Desperate, the Helpless, the Homeless Fall Victim to the Heartless Hong Kong: loud, decadent, exotic, dazzling day and night with flashing, brilliant, multicolored lights. Quite a contrast from Paris -- the serene, romantic city of warmth, hope and dreams that I had just left. Hong Kong's streets were lined with makeshift shelters used to sell meager goods by day, and as shelters by night for some of the million Chinese who had escaped the tyranny of the Communist regime on the mainland. The ex-pat community and the elite Hong Kong Chinese, on the other hand, had built...

The $h!tty Tipper Database! Tipper's Name: John Kerry Restaurant: Chart House Where it happened: Alexandria, VA Total bill / Tip amount / Percentage: $262.60 / $0.00 / 0% What happened: June 5, 04 Kerry, his wife, 4 unknown suits - We were happy to seat them in a semi-private area and gave them the same excellent service as we would give anyone - then got stiffed! Tipper's Name: John Kerry Restaurant: Nathan'sWhere it happened: Washington, D.C.Total bill / Tip amount / Percentage: $110.00 / $5.00 / 4% What happened: He was quite nice, but the wife was a real bitch.

Coalition forces acting on a tip by Iraqis captured a known associate of Izzat Ibrahim al-Dhouri, Coalition Provisional Authority officials announced today. During a briefing today from Baghdad, Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for Combined Joint Task Force 7, said that Ayed Hameed Nouri was arrested Feb. 23 at the Niwan Hotel in central Mosul. He was apprehended without incident. Kimmitt reported that in a separate raid Iraqi Civil Defense Corps forces captured Shahab Al-Hawas, a suspected financier of coalition attacks and a cousin of al-Dhouri. Over the past 48 hours, coalition forces conducted seven offensive operations...

New Car Arrives During Waitress' Shift Franchesca Renderos, 22, works at P.F. Chang's China Bistro in Houston. Wednesday night, she was the server for Doug Brown and a group of real estate agents. Brown, who owns a mortgage company, was trying to win the agents' business. "She was being so sweet and so fun. I asked her, 'What would be the most special tip you could have?' I said, 'A pair of shoes, a purse?' She said, 'No, I need a car.' And I looked at the girls and said, 'Well, if you will help me out and give me...

How to be a good Anti-American Brothers!!! in these oppressive times where american democracy, movies and evil consumer goods threaten to crush us all, or brainwash us into becoming consumerist sheep, it behoves us all to maintain our intellectual righteousness. So I've prepared this little guide to help you sharpen up your anti-american rage. TIP #1: America as First Cause A little sophistry can go a long way in blaming the USA for everything. Lots of vague, emotive mumbling about global capitalism, McDonalds, Nike and whatnot should get the juices pumping. It needn't have any relevance to the subject at...