Free Republic

As many people across the nation enjoy a day off for July 4th, the grills will be fired up and the fireworks will light up the night sky. It is a time for celebrating our nation’s freedom from the British government’s tyranny and control over a group of independent patriots, determined to build a nation based upon individual freedoms and rights. While the current trend in Washington is to move toward the oppressive, suffocating monstrosity of big government (which is spawning TEA Parties across the nation), it is a time for my family and me to reflect, not only on...

Slaying an afterthought to LR robbery, police say Teens’ accounts of killing differ in affidavit BY JACOB QUINN SANDERS ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE All that the four teenage boys wanted to do, Little Rock police say, was rob the old man and scare him a little. Killing him, police said, was an afterthought. According to an arrest warrant affidavit unsealed Wednesday, the four boys, who ranged in age from 14 to 16, met Tuesday afternoon at the corner of Eddy Lane and Lark Place in a quiet, older neighborhood just south of Base Line Road, just to hang out. One asked if...

Police Seek Fourth Teen in LR Burglary-Homicide Reported by: KARK 4 News Wednesday, Jul 1, 2009 @10:30am CST Little Rock Police are looking for local teen they're calling a person of interest in Tuesday's residential break-in that left a homeowner dead. The suspect is identified as Antonio Demetrius Terry, 16, of Little Rock. He is named in police reports read in court this morning when three other suspects were arraigned in the case. Maurice Clark, 67, was shot when the suspects broke into his home. Thomas Stacy Caffery, 17, Craig Deshaun Woods, 15, and Mashawn Kendrick, 14, all pleaded not...

Three suspects appeared in a Little Rock courtroom this morning and pleaded not guilty to murder charges in a burglary-turned-shooting Tuesday afternoon that left a homeowner dead. The three juveniles are all charged as adults in the killing of Maurice Clark, 67, at his home at 4 Lark Place, just south of Baseline Road. They're identified as: Thomas Stacy Caffery, 17 Craig Deshaun Woods, 15 Mashawn Kendrick, 14 Bonds for each of the teens, who are all from Little Rock, were set at one-million-dollars. They are also charged with theft of property and fleeing. According to police reports read in...

That is the take from some friends at the Arkansas Judicial Network who have put this video together, urging you to contact Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor to tell them to oppose their fellow Democrat in the White House and vote against Judge Sonia Sotomayor: (snip) And that is the key. The people back home in Arkansas will note how Sen. Lincoln, who will be asking those very same people for her job back in 2010, will vote for this woman who, despite her wisdom, was overturned on a case which resonates. Remember, it was Mrs. Lincoln who tepidly...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas prisoner nearly died after guards left him lying naked in his own feces for a weekend, and while investigating the incident corrections officials found that guards received lap dances while on the job, documents obtained by The Associated Press show. The prison system fired Lt. John Glasscock, who supervised guards on duty at the maximum-security Tucker Unit prison. One sergeant was fired, another was demoted and three others received written warnings, according to a report stamped "Sustained (Allegation is True)." The report said Glasscock gave false information to investigators and did substandard work "resulting...

Judge receives mental update in Pressly case Slaying suspect has confessed three times, prosecutors say BY JOHN LYNCH ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE The Marianna man accused of killing TV news anchor Anne Pressly has “confessed” three times to the slaying, a Pulaski County prosecutor revealed during a court hearing Tuesday. The claim by chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson prompted a challenge from defendant Curtis Lavelle Vance, who said his statements were made under duress because Little Rock police had threatened his life. “That was under extreme pressure,” Vance said. “I had a gun in my face.” Prosecutors denied Vance’s allegations of coercion...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The man accused of killing an Arkansas television anchorwoman from South Carolina will appear in court and could discuss why he refused to take part in a mental competency exam.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A deputy prosecutor in Arkansas says the man charged with capital murder in the beating death of a TV anchorwoman has confessed to the killing. Curtis Vance is charged in the beating death last October of Anne Pressly, an anchorwoman for KATV in Little Rock. Pressly survived five days after she was found severely beaten in her home.

Judge blocks phone for suspect in soldier shootingAP - Friday, June 12 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A judge has blocked jail telephone access for a man accused of killing a soldier outside an Army recruiting center in Arkansas. Abdulhakim Muhammad, 23, has called The Associated Press twice this week to discuss the shooting of Pvt. William Andrew Long. Little Rock District Judge Alice Lightle sent a letter to the Pulaski County jail, ordering jailers to bar Muhammad from using the phone, except to speak to his lawyer. A spokesman for the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office declined Thursday to release the...

I heard on the news this morning that Obama called the widow of the Security Guard murdered by the nutjob at the Holocaust Museum. Offered his condolences. I was wondering, does anyone know if he called the family of the soldier assasinated by the Islamic terrorist in Arkansas?

For eight years George W. Bush and Dick Cheney succesfully kept America safe from terrorist attacks on the homeland, yet under the Obama administration there has been a terrorist attack on U.S. soil that you probably didn’t hear anything about. On June 1, 2009 U.S. Army Pvt. William Long, 24, was gunned down in front of his recruiting office in Little Rock Arkansas by a self proclaimed Muslim Jihadist. But the Pro-Obama media reported very little on it if they reported anything at all. Whether the media neglected to report this act of Jihad because it precluded and would have...

It happened at about 6:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Express on Sanders Street. Police say a person called the front desk and said they were an employee at a fire sprinkler service. Officer Sharen Carter says the caller told the clerk there was a problem with the sprinklers and the clerk needed to reset them by pulling the fire alarm. She complied, which caused the alarm go off. Police say the caller then told her to pull the lever on the fire alarm down, but she was unable to do so. Carter says the caller then instructed the clerk...

The day before he died, U.S. Army Pvt. William Andrew “Andy” Long floated the Buffalo River with his sister, Vanessa Rice. If he had his way, she said, the pair would have gone skydiving. “I’m so blessed to have had that day with Andy,” Rice tearfully told guests at her brother’s funeral Monday at Harlan Park Baptist Church in Conway. “My brother meant the world to me. Andy loved to be outdoors, to travel, and he couldn’t wait to get to Korea to serve his country.” The service was followed by a burial with full military honors Monday at the...

<p>Little Rock - Army Private William Long was to have been on his way to his first posting today when, instead, he was being eulogized in his hometown.</p> <p>Long, from Conway, was killed June 1 outside the Army-Navy Career Center in west Little Rock where he had volunteered to tell others about his military experience. A Muslim convert once imprisoned in Yemen has pleaded not guilty to capital murder in Long's death. He allegedly told police he targeted Army personnel "because of what they had done to Muslims in the past."</p>

The case has attracted high-level attention, with President Obama saying Thursday in a written statement that he was "deeply saddened" by the shootings.

Freepers: I need your help. As you are aware, the terrorist attack in Little Rock, Arkansas, resulting in the murder of Pvt Long, and wounding of another garnered alot of controversy by the inaction of our President, and the mediablackout compared to the Tiller shooting.Now there is another outrage. A muslim fanatic crashed the memorial service where the National Anthem, a prayer for PVT Long were just being completed. Please go to YouTube.com, (click the link in the header), and sign up if you have to. Don't let the anti-Americans and anti-semites on Youtube take up for this gross disrespect...

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. | The man accused of fatally shooting a soldier outside a recruiting center begged for FBI agents to free him from a Yemeni jail where he was "radicalized" by Islamic terrorists, his lawyer told Associated Press on Thursday. Lawyer Jim Hensley described Abdulhakim Muhammad as an impressionable youth driven to public service in an impoverished Middle Eastern country. But teachings by "hardened" terrorists in Yemen and experiences with Afghan child refugees who were missing limbs drove him to become someone his parents didn't recognize, Mr. Hensley said. "Here comes the FBI, who may be able to...

• –––––CONWAY — Pvt. William Andrew “Andy” Long, 23 of Conway, died Monday, June 1, 2009. Andy was born June 26, 1985, in Long Beach, Calif., to Daris and Janet (Roberson) Long. Andy recently finished Army training at Ft. Benning, Ga., and was on his way to Korea. He attended Sunny Gap Baptist Church in Conway. His family says he had an infectious smile, a great sense of humor, and a brilliant mind. He is a hero. Andy is survived by his parents, Daris and Janet Long of Conway; sister Vanessa Rice and husband Robert of Conway and brother Triston...

Crowd rallies in support of troops where soldiers shot Posted on 04 June 2009 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK — Dozens of people rallied in support of U.S. military personnel Thursday outside a recruiting center where two soldiers were gunned down this week. Pvt. William Long died and another soldier, Pvt. Quinton I. Ezeagwula, was wounded in the attack Monday at the Army-Navy Career Center in west Little Rock. Police arrested Abdulhakim Muhammad, 23, who has pleaded innocent in the shooting. Muhammad, born Carlos Bledsoe, converted to Islam as a teen-ager and legally changed his name in...

In conjuntion with www.freerepublic.com, The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Patriot Guard (AR), and Alerts Secure Arkansas is planning a huge rally to support our military. It will be held on Thursday, June 4th, at 4 p.m., in front of the Army-Navy Recruiting Station at Ashley Square, corner of Reservoir Road and Rodney Parham in Little Rock (. This is an emergency rally to show respect for our troops and let them know we mourn the loss of soldier William Long and the wounding of soldier Quinton Ezeagwula. Please bring your Flags, yellow ribbons, and signs. For more...

The White House finally got around to releasing a statement on the jihadi attack against our troops at the Arkansas military recruitment center. Here is the entire statement: “I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.”“Senseless?” It made perfectly good sense to a vengeful Muslim convert jihadi bent on...

CONWAY, Ark. (AP) — The father of a soldier slain outside a recruiting center sought a quiet life for his family in rural Arkansas after years of military service, but the battlefield came home to find them. Daris Long's son, Army Pvt. William Andrew Long, was shot Monday in suburban Little Rock while he stood and smoked a cigarette, far from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Long, 23, died in an attack that also wounded Pvt. Quinton I. Ezeagwula, 18. The alleged gunman, Abdulhakim Muhammad, also 23, told investigators he wanted to kill as many Army personnel as he...

In an armed attack outside the Army-Navy Career Center which handles recruiting, in Little Rock, AR, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, killed one soldier wounded another. Muhammad, an American citizen who is a convert to Islam and previously known as Carlos Bledsoe, already had been under investigation by the FBI at the time of the shootings. He had traveled to Yemen, received indoctrination from radical clerics, according to a watch group, and possessed a false Somali passport. He was charged in the death of Pvt. William Long, 23, while a prosecutor said Muhammad admitted shooting Long and another soldier "because of...

..why the White House didn't put out a statement responding to the shooting at a military recruitment center Monday. Doesn't that clash a little with their response to the killing of Dr. George Tiller? ...how much Republicans are willing to put on the line to slow Sotomayor's confirmation process - and whether the White House has active plans to undermine opposition. How big a fight would Obama pick to get Sotomayor confirmed by August, rather than in September?

The Political Animals Lunch was held at 11:30am at the Governor's Mansion. The debate for this event was between Arkansas Democrat Party Chairman Todd Turner and Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb. The moderator was Bill Simmons. Bill Simmons asked a few questions then questions were asked by the audience. Unfortunately, most of the questioning by Bill Simmons's centered around a comment made by Doyle Webb about the sexual orientation of Kathy Webb. Turner and Simmons turned what could have been a great discussion about the differences between state parties, into an a continuous rant about how Republicans have no ideas...

The man charged in Monday's shootings outside a Little Rock military recruiting center has been ordered held without bond after a Tuesday morning appearance in Little Rock District Court. Meanwhile, police reports released in court Tuesday shed some light on what happened on Monday. Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, also known as Carlos Bledsoe, is charged with capital murder and 16 counts of terroristic acts. According to the police reports, Muhammad admitted to shooting the victims, and then revealed how and why. He told police that he put three weapons, including an assault rifle, into his SUV and then drove around...

Freepers: After sleeping on it, I have decided to call you to action! A great injustice is being perpetrated by our main stream media (MSM) and our Commander In Chief (CINC), President Barrack Hussein Obama. The time now is 10:04 CST, 02 JUNE 09, exactly 24 hours after Privates William Long, 23 of Conway, AR, and Private Second Class Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville, AR became the first victims of terrorism on American soil since 11 SEP 01 and we have heard no statement from their Commander in Chief, President Barrack Hussein Obama. Almost as egregious as Obama’s silence, we...

"The stories of two very different lives with similar fates crossed through the media's hands yesterday - both equally important but one lacked the proper attention. The death of 67-year old George Tiller was unacceptable, but equally disgusting was another death that police believe was politically and religiously motivated as well. William Long died yesterday. The 23-year old Army Recruiter was gunned down by a fanatic; another fellow soldier was wounded in the ambush. The soldiers had just completed their basic training and were talking to potential recruits, just as my son, Track, once did. Whatever titles we give these...

The heinous act of Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 24, formerly Carlos Leon Bledsoe, a prison convert to Islam, is a perfect example of why terrorism cannot be fought using police procedures and is more effectively fought under military auspices. The fact that Muhammad was under FBI surveillance and already under suspicion of possible terrorist activities but got away with murdering one soldier and seriously injuring another is a lesson of how police procedures are prone to failure in stopping terrorism. Many on the left in America lambasted President Bush for utilizing military tribunals and for his contention that the capture of...

In another slap to America's men and women serving in the armed forces, Barack Obama has ignored the fatal shooting attack on an Army-Navy recruiting center in Little Rock this morning that killed one serviceman and wounded another.Yesterday, Obama issued a sharply worded statement condemning the shooting of late-term abortionist George Tiller withing hours of his murder and Obama's Justice Department has ordered U.S. Marshalls to deploy at abortion clinincs to give them protection.Seven hours after the attack on the recruiting center, the same length of time it took Obama to issue a statement on the Tiller murder, there has...

The jihadist, back from Yemen I have learned from a well-placed source that Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, who killed one soldier and wounded another at a a Little Rock military recruiting center today, and who faces charges of terrorism as well as first-degree murder, has recently returned from Yemen, where he studied jihad with an Islamic scholar there. Apparently the Islamic scholar under whom this American convert to Islam studied was yet another misunderstander of Islam's true, peaceful teachings. More on this as it develops.

An Arkansas man was arrested Monday in connection with a shooting at a Little Rock military recruiting center that killed one soldier and wounded another, authorities said. Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad -- a 24-year-old Little Rock resident formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe -- faces a first-degree murder charge and 15 counts of engaging in a terrorist act, Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas said. The terrorist counts stem from the shots fired at an occupied building.

<p>Latest Video:Little Rock - One person is in custody, and two others have been transported to a local hospital in serious condition following a double-shooting in west Little Rock Monday morning.</p> <p>Authorities say the incident occurred around 10:00 a.m. at the U.S. Army Navy Career Center inside the Ashley Square Shopping Center at 9112 North Rodney Parham Road. According to Lt. Terry Hastings with the Little Rock Police Department, two recruiting officers standing outside the office were hit when the unidentified suspect drove up in a black SUV and began shooting.</p>

Starting with the background: AR-01 is one of those districts that is… interesting. It is currently rated as R +8 in the Cook Political Report, but is held by a soi-disant ‘Blue Dog Democrat’: in this case, Marion Berry. Berry has been in that seat since 1997: he won the 2006 election with 69% of the vote; and he was unopposed in 2008. However, he will not be unopposed this term. Rick Crawford is going to be challenging him; it’s reported that the NRCC is looking at him as part of their planned campaign against selected ‘Blue Dogs’ that did...

BATESVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Sheriff's deputies said a man used horse tranquilizers to try to drift off into sleep at a Batesville motel. Deputies said the man was taken to the hospital around 6 p.m. Tuesday. Inside his room, deputies said they found syringes and three bottles of horse tranquilizers. Deputy Anthony Carter said the man told him he used the drugs as many as five times that day to help him go to sleep.

Friday, May 15th, I attended the Arkansas Conservative Forum, a meeting of the Faulkner County Republican Committee at Ryan's in Conway. The guest speaker was Tim Griffin, a possible candidate for U.S. Senate. Griffin talked about the fact that when government creates a program, it means less freedom. He also disputed media claims that conservatism lead to the bad economy in that it was Republicans betraying conservatism that led to the economic downturn. Griffin then stated that Senator Blanche Lincoln needs to be replaced with a conservative senator. On issues such as Cap-in-Tax, Card Check, and Detainees, Sen. Lincoln has...

"It wasn't because I don't like Jewish people," Hendren saidA Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Arkansas has admitted to referring to Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer as "that Jew" during a recent appearance before a Republican group. State Sen. Kim Hendren of Gravette said he regretted referring to Schumer's religion when he criticized the senator during a recent appearance before a Republican group. The "that Jew" comment was reported by a conservative blogger. "I ought not to have referred to it at all," Hendren said. "When I referred to him as Jewish, it wasn't because I don't like Jewish people."...

The word is that the state government will have a presser this afternoon to discuss a unconfirmed REPEAT unconfirmed case of swine flu.

There is nothing quite like food from a street vendor. Exchanging currency for quickly prepared delicacies with portability in mind is a timeless operation. From ancient Chinese vendors to the ubiquitous New York hotdog carts, people have been standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of portable carts for thousands of years, and our own Toad Suck Daze is no different. Now is the time of year when we all cram ourselves into a couple of blocks of downtown Conway, purchase various fried offerings, sit at picnic tables, bleachers, or simply stand with total strangers attempting not to burn our tongues or get...

CADDO PARISH, La. -- A massive natural-gas discovery here in northern Louisiana heralds a big shift in the nation's energy landscape. After an era of declining production, the U.S. is now swimming in natural gas. Even conservative estimates suggest the Louisiana discovery -- known as the Haynesville Shale, for the dense rock formation that contains the gas -- could hold some 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That's the equivalent of 33 billion barrels of oil, or 18 years' worth of current U.S. oil production. Some industry executives think the field could be several times that size. "There's no...

It's been said that conservatism has different meanings for different people. It may not be textbook, but without a whole lot of navel gazing, here's what it means to me and what Free Republic is all about: In a word, Freedom! In two words, Preserving Freedom. In a handful of words as stated by our Founding Fathers, to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity! America was founded on the proposition that all men are created equal by God and that our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are granted directly by God...

Violent Mexican drug cartels have been making headlines in recent weeks. And now comes word that the Department of Justice reports cartel organizations exist in 230 American cities. Of alarming note for Arkansans is that three cities on the list are in the Natural State: Little Rock, Fort Smith and Fayetteville. U.S. Senator Mark Pryor says coordination of counternarcotics enforcement among every level of government is critical in order to combat drug smuggling across the border and cartel infiltration of U.S. cities. He held a Senate hearing Tuesday, entitled “Counternarcotics Enforcement: Coordination at the Federal, State and Local Level,” where...

Do not believe the nattering nabobs of negativity. The Nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt was a huge success!! What we need now is MORE and LOUDER!! Obama has no clue. Being confronted by millions of fed-up citizens is new to him. He never expected the otherwise docile American people to rise up against his wannabe Marxist/fascist totalitarian regime. He's now lashing out at us through the Dept of Homeland Security as if We the People are his enemy. Well, we are! And he now knows it. And he's scared witless!! And the media has been reduced to the speechless,...

Congratulations FReepers and Patriots! According to Henchster's ongoing tallies, we've surpassed 750,000 participants in our nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt! Woo hoo!! All 50 states fully engaged! Over 600 cities represented and reports still coming in! Huge turnout, huge SUCCESS!! Elected officials take note: DO NOT TREAD ON ME!! Tyranny, usurpation, corruption, overreaching, big spending, high taxing will no longer be tolerated! We the people are FED-UP and we're not going to take it anymore! Ignore us at your own peril! All Congressional seats, all elected offices throughout the land at risk! Revolution is in the air!!

If the Obama administration has taken flak for suggesting that conservative groups might be home to domestic terrorists, it looks like some House Democrat leaders are willing to go even further: But in an interview on Fox TV in San Francisco, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chalked up the GOP grass-roots effort as “AstroTurf.” “This initiative is funded by the high end; we call it AstroTurf, it's not really a grass-roots movement. It's AstroTurf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class,” Pelosi said....

Fort Smith police have arrested a man for trying to break through a gate at the Fort Smith Airport. At 6:49 a.m. today officers of the Fort Smith Police Department responded to TAC-Air in reference to a vehicle crashing through one of the fence gates. When Officer Vincent Clamser arrived he found employees of TAC-Air detaining a white male standing beside a pickup truck and an airplane. The truck had damage to the front and a gate and about 20 feet of fence was destroyed. The male was identified as William Ray Guthrie, 28, of Hackett. Witnesses reported the truck...

After the 2010 census has been held, the number of seats held by each state in the U.S. House of Representatives will change. The National Conference of State Legislatures recently estimated what the 2010 reapportionment will mean for each state. Eight states are expected to lose one seat each, in the U.S. House and in the Electoral College. They are Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. States that will gain will be Texas (3 seats), and one each for Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah. If the bill now pending in Congress to expand the...

I’m TEA’d. On April 15, 2009, TEA’d off taxpayers from around the nation will be gathering in their cities and towns to let their feckless representatives in Washington know we are Taxed Enough Already. The time has come to stop the spending, borrowing and taxing…NOW. I will be in Monticello, Arkansas, with a steadily growing number of people from all over the economic spectrum – doctors, lawyers, truckers and housewives – sick and tired of the way our tax money is being wasted.

This is a promotional video for the Arkansas Tea Parties on April 15th at the Arkansas State Capitol and the North Little Rock Post Office at 515 East McCain. The Arkansas State Capitol Tea Party will be from 3pm-6:30pm and the North Little Rock Arkansas Tea Party will be from 5pm-8pm. Other promotional videos will be made and uploaded until the actual event. Please send this video to as many people as possible. The video is less than a minute so it can be used for advertising purposes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEWvWn7Y-d8