Free Republic

Knoxville police searched Friday night for two men involved in a break-in attempt that left a would-be robber shot by a West Knoxville resident, authorities said. Knoxville Police Department officers were alerted at 9:56 a.m. of the shooting at 5455 Lance Drive, in the Timbercrest subdivision. The resident was identified as 59-year-old Gary Berthiaume, and the gunshot victim was identified as 19-year-old Joshua Williams, no address available, according to a news release from KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk. Both were treated at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, DeBusk said. Their conditions weren't available Friday night. Berthiaume was sitting on his...

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas Sunday promised someday the PA flag would fly over “Jerusalem, eternal capital of the state of Palestine.” Thousands of people greeted Abbas rapturously upon his return from the United Nations, where the General Assembly granted the PLO, representing the PA, upgraded status as a nonmember observer state. "Raise your heads high, because you are Palestinians!” Abbas told the joyous crowd, waving PA flags in the PA capital of Ramallah, located in Samaria. "You have proof that you are stronger than the occupation, because you are Palestinians... stronger than the settlements, because you are Palestinians. "We were...

MANILA, Philippines — China is “literally testing the waters” to see how far it can go in provoking America’s tolerance with the plan to board foreign ships as an act of asserting its claim over virtually the entire South China Sea. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said China has been appearing displeased by US military’s plan to “pivot” its presence to Asia following the planned pull-out of troops from Iran and Afghanistan. To indicate this sentiment, Santiago said China would make things difficult for the US, its Western allies who have been using the sea as a transit route and members of...

SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA.com) — The city attorney of San Bernardino is under scrutiny for telling residents to “lock their doors and load their guns” during a city council meeting. The official explained that because the city is bankrupt and slashing public safety budgets people will need to start protecting themselves.

How do we conservatives win in 2014? It is a question that we must ask and answer now. We must have a plan now. In our current electoral system, we are in a perpetual campaign. This is especially true for Congress since they only have two-year terms. Is there a plan we can use to win in 2014? Yes there is. It is a simple, grass roots plan. What is it? A friend of mine likes to say, we are in the conversion business. This is so true. I know of almost no one who moves from conservatism to liberalism....

I read that Senator Mitch McConnell burst into laughter upon hearing Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner lay out President Obama's "Fiscal Cliff" plan. Here's the rub: > $1.6 trillion in revenue> $50.0 billion stimulus> $400.0 billion in Medicare cuts Unlike Susan Rice, who was sent in to fall on the administration's sword during the Benghazi cover up, Geithner isn't looking for his next government job. It makes him the perfect foil. He can actually go in with a straight face with a proposal so absurd that an old reserved guy like McConnell doubles over in hysterical disbelief. Some say this is...

Just how far has the culture in government schools devolved? School district efforts to professionalize staff is now considered an affront to teachers. At least that’s the attitude emanating from teachers in the Hampton, New Hampshire SAU 90 school district. The school board is considering an update to its dress-code policy for teachers, and, according to Seacoastonline.com, “several teachers are insulted such a policy exists, telling them blue jeans, sneakers, flip-flops and tank tops are off limits.” Superintendent Kathleen Murphy said staff members feel the proposed policy is “derogatory and condescending.” It’s derogatory to ask professionals to dress a little...

--link only to Vin Suprynowicz editorial column--LVRJ-- -http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/steal-from-the-rich-give-it-all-to-me-181734921.html

I’m not easily grossed out or nauseated. Heck, I’m on email lists for a half-dozen softball teams and you can only imagine the strange/filthy/nasty things that guys send to each other. But I read a story about the death panels in the United Kingdom that left me discombobulated. I can’t even begin to describe how I feel.Here’s the intro of a disturbing report in the Daily Mail.Sick children are being discharged from NHS hospitals to die at home or in hospices on controversial ‘death pathways’. Until now, end of life regime the Liverpool Care Pathway was thought to have involved...

A recent article on Yahoo extolled “The Benefits of Marrying Later in Life.” The writer, who waited until age 46 to marry, listed the benefits of delaying marriage:– Learning to love herself and accept her self-worth – Time to become her own person – Benefit of knowing who she is – Experiencing life as her own complete personWith all due respect to the author, her list looks like a recipe for perpetual singleness. A decade or more of doing what’s best for “me” and learning to love and complete “myself” is not the best way to prepare for the...

As if California and America have not been damaged enough by greedy unions who don’t give a damn about the rest of us, a small union in the Port of Los Angeles has ground the economy of Southern California to a halt. A strike by a union of about 800 members has effectively closed the port which is the busiest import/export hub in the country. As a result the Port of Los Angeles is suffering a loss of $ 1 BILLION DOLLARS A DAY! The strike has spread to “600,000 truckers, dockworkers, trading companies and others depend for their livelihoods.”…...

Hello All, I know it is the Christmas season and we're all tired after our exchange fight but we must press on! THIS IS THE BEST SHOT TO PASS A RIGHT TO WORK LAW IN MICHIGAN. IF OUR LEGISLATORS LOSE THEIR NERVE (or allow the powerful union lobby to get to them), it might slip away. Our legislators know how important this is to Michigan's lagging economy. They've had the facts presented to them over and over. We don't need to explain why this is good for the citizens of Michigan anymore. Now is the time for them to ACT....

Okay, who stole our jobs? Democrats accuse Republicans of out-sourcing American jobs. But no one knows how this is happening. Republicans have no idea how they supposedly outsource jobs. If someone started a petition saying “Let’s repeal section 99 U.S.C. Section 1234 to stop outsourcing jobs,” probably 80% to 90% of citizens and elected officials would rush to sign. The repeal of such a mythical section would probably take 48 hours to pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the President. But how can you repeal something if you don’t know what you want to repeal? One of...

From a recent Glenn Reynolds USA Today column [1]: So Washington gets fat, and it does so on money taken from the rest of the country. Just how fat have Washington and the Beltway counties gotten? According to the latest U.S. Census data, between 2000 and 2010 the richest of the Washington, D.C., area have accrued about twice as much new wealth as those not living in or around the area.Also, some Washington counties have gotten about twice as much new wealth as some of the other richest counties in the United States.An April 2012 Forbes article [2] lists...

December 1 , 2012 City of Detroit - Layoffs Coming Feb 2013? Resolution Copper Mining - up to 400 Update: Clinton Community College NY - 10 Celgard - 40 EnerSys Energy Products - 100 AM General - Confirms Layoffs, About 100? Update: AT&T - 106 Landline Techs. in CT City of Steubenville Ohio - 12 Layoff Notices Cumberland Pharmaceuticals - 1/3 of its Salesforce U.S. Steel Corp.McKeesport Tubular Plant - 142 Worldwide Flight Services in 51 in Honolulu Orange Township Ohio - 22 Layoff Notices Scentsy - 19 O'Hare Airport - 300 Janitor Jobs Cuts Possible Glendale Adventist Medical Center...

For a brief moment last month​—​roughly a 72-hour span beginning at 11:00 p.m. on November 6 and concluding late in the evening of November 9​—​everyone in America was interested in demographics. That’s because, in addition to rewarding the just, punishing the wicked, and certifying that America was (for the moment) not racist, President Barack Obama’s victory over Mitt Romney pointed to two ineluctable demographic truths. The first was expected: that the growth of the Hispanic-American cohort is irresistible and will radically transform our country’s ethnic future. The second caught people by surprise: that the proportion of unmarried Americans was suddenly...

One key difference between the U.S. economy today and that of 15 or 20 years ago is the labor environment—not just wages in factories, but the degree of flexibility displayed by unions and workers. Many observers would say these changes reflect a loss of power and leverage by workers, and they would be right. But management, more keenly aware of offshoring’s perils, is also trying to create a different (and better) factory environment. Hourly employees increasingly participate in workplace decision making in ways that are more like what you find in white-collar technology companies. In late 2008, Dirk Bowman and...

National Debt Is Still the Biggest Threat to Our National SecurityDr. Ileana Johnson Paugh Friday, November 30, 2012 “An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily a power to destroy, because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation.” – John Marshall Americans are in denial about the simple fact that our national debt is the biggest threat to our national security. National debt grew exponentially from Washington’s profligate deficit spending, recessions, and wars. **SNIP** Our national debt has exploded in the last four years. During President Obama’s first three years in office, it grew...

<p>Associated Press West Point's landmark Cadet Chapel saw its first same-sex marriage on Saturday as a graduate of the academy and her partner exchanged vows.</p> <p>WEST POINT, N.Y. — Cadet Chapel, the landmark Gothic church that is a center for spiritual life at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, hosted its first same-sex wedding Saturday.</p>

RPV Chairman Pat Mullins issued the following statement: "I am disappointed by Lt. Governor Bolling's remarks over the past 48 hours. Lt. Governor Bolling has a stellar record of public service, and has long been a strong voice for the conservative cause. Nowhere in his statements does he mention a policy disagreement with the Attorney General. The proper venue for challenging a fellow Republican is during a nomination contest. Lt. Governor Bolling chose to suspend his campaign. I hope he will take his own words to heart and work to bring our Party together." ### J. Garren Shipley Communications Director...