Free Republic

WASHINGTON (CBSDC) – With the use of domestic drones increasing, concern has not just come up over privacy issues, but also over the potential use of lethal force by the unmanned aircraft. Drones have been used overseas to target and kill high-level terror leaders and are also being used along the U.S.-Mexico border in the battle against illegal immigration. But now, these drones are starting to be used domestically at an increasing rate. The Federal Aviation Administration has allowed several police departments to use drones across the U.S. They are controlled from a remote location and use infrared sensors and...

TAMPA, Fla. -- The thousands of protesters expected at the Democratic and Republican national conventions can come armed with a lot more than signs and slogans: State law in Florida and North Carolina allows concealed weapons, including guns. In Tampa, where the RNC will hold its festivities this fall, officials are starting to worry about people toting guns in such a politically-charged environment. The City Council voted Thursday to ask Republican Gov. Rick Scott to help them temporarily ban concealed weapons. Charlotte officials have yet to publically voice concern, but with both cities trying to balance public safety with First...

Protesters at US party conventions could be armedBy MITCH WEISS and TAMARA LUSH | Associated Press – 44 mins ago TAMPA, Florida (AP) — The thousands of protesters expected at the Democratic and Republican national conventions can come armed with a lot more than signs and slogans: State law in Florida and North Carolina allows concealed weapons, including guns. In Tampa, where the Republicans will hold their festivities this fall, officials are starting to worry about people toting guns in such a politically charged environment. The City Council voted Thursday to ask Republican Gov. Rick Scott to help them temporarily...

BERKELEY -- Why in the world does the University of California employ an armed police force on its campuses? That question, and the anger implied in its wording, was asked repeatedly Wednesday night by UC Berkeley students and faculty of top UC brass. Berkeley was a whistlestop on their tour of campuses before they prepare UC's official response to the use of batons and pepper-spray against peaceful protesters last November. ... Everyone sat in concentric circles waiting for the chance to influence recommendations being prepared on behalf of the university system by Charles Robinson, UC's general counsel, and Chris Edley,...

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, in a harsh attack on the Obama administration Monday, accused the president of viewing American military power as a negative force in the world, and planning to “gut” defense spending through the congressional deficit-reduction committee. “It is my suspicion that the White House and congressional Democrats” designed the supercommittee process “for one purpose: to force Republicans to choose between raising taxes or gutting defense,” said California Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, the House Armed Services Committee chairman.

Multiple sources have confirmed the fact that all three individuals arrested – James Stewart, Victoria Bloch and Sharon Palmer – are being charged with ‘conspiracy’ related to the sell of unpasteurized raw milk products. This reportedly includes sections of the California Penal Code Section 182a. Additional charges may also be pending, including a charge of ‘mislabeling cheese’ for Sharon Palmer, was arrested during a raid of Healthy Family Farms. As video of the raid on Rawesome Foods (also raided in 2010) demonstrates, Feds not only seized cash and raw milk supplies (much of which was also dumped out) but also...

This is the grim state of our military’s readiness: An Air Force F-15C that broke in half during flight, two F-18s that have caught fire aboard ships, every single cruiser with cracks in its hull, A-10C Warthogs with fuselage cracks, the UH-1N Twin Huey helicopter fleet that is regularly grounded, and over half the navy’s deployed aircraft not ready for combat. That is the picture of the U.S. military in disrepair—what The Heritage Foundation’s Mackenzie Eaglen calls a “readiness crisis” among all U.S. military services, including the National Guard and reserves. Readiness is “dangerously lower,” she writes, leading to “delayed,...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama ordered grisly photographs of Osama bin Laden in death sealed from public view on Wednesday, declaring, "We don't need to spike the football" in triumph after this week's daring middle-of-the-night raid. The terrorist leader was killed by American commandos who burst into his room and feared he was reaching for a nearby weapon, U.S. officials said.Several weapons were found in the room where the terror chief died, including AK-47 assault rifles and side arms, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they offered the most recent in a series of increasingly detailed...

The United States will discuss the idea of US armed agents operating inside Mexico, which is being rocked by deadly drug violence, when President Barack Obama meets his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon, a senior US official said Wednesday. Obama welcomes Calderon to the White House on Thursday. "It's a top priority for the US government to ensure that measures are being taken to protect our personnel," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told journalists in a phone briefing. "That will continue to be a topic of conversation between both governments and will undoubtedly be a topic that gets discussed...

An undercover TSA agent was able to get through security at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with a handgun during testing of the enhanced-imaging body scanners, according to a high-ranking, inside source at the Transportation Security Administration. The source said the undercover agent carried a pistol in her undergarments when she put the body scanners to the test. The officer successfully made it through the airport's body scanners every time she tried, the source said. "In this case, where they had a test, and it was just a dismal failure as I'm told," said Larry Wansley, former head of security at...

China is preparing for conflict 'in every direction', the defence minister said on Wednesday in remarks that threaten to overshadow a visit to Beijing by his US counterpart next month. "In the coming five years, our military will push forward preparations for military conflict in every strategic direction," said Liang Guanglie in an interview published by several state-backed newspapers in China. "We may be living in peaceful times, but we can never forget war, never send the horses south or put the bayonets and guns away," Mr Liang added. China repeatedly says it is planning a "peaceful rise" but the...

Quick thinking and a cool head! Alyssa Gutierrez bravely defended her home and her life with her Mom's rifle. She was not going to end up, if she could help it, another victim of criminal violence. She first tried to hide from the criminal intruders, but when they discovered her, she ran quickly to a bedroom and retrieved her Mom's little pink single shot bolt action 22 caliber rifle to defend her home and life.

The United States may have created a Frankenstein in the Palestinian Authority, which human rights groups fear is using U.S.-trained forces to build a police state. “I feel real concern that we are reaching the level of a police state,” according to Ramallah-based human rights group director Shawan Jabarin, quoted by the Financial Times. The United States has taken pride in its training PA ”policemen,” avoiding use of the words "armed forces" in order not to violate Oslo agreements. General Keith Dayton, who recently stepped down as director of the training program in the PA, has said the forces have...

An informative video from PubliusForum.com on the 2nd Amendment.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- A homeowner has fatally shot a masked burglar only to learn the burglar was a longtime friend. Ezekiel Wiley says he fired all six bullets at a man who crawled through a busted kitchen window, armed with a screwdriver Wednesday. Wiley said he couldn't see the burglar's face....frpa

Barrett Armed Robbery Victims: 911 Call Took Too Long to Answer By Heather Shannon MILWAUKEE--Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's son and six of his friends were robbed at gunpoint Saturday night at Wick Field by two suspects, one of which had a gun. Angela "Martina" Ibanez Baldor was one of the teens there with the mayor's son. She called 911 several times, but no one picked up her call for help. "They never picked up and that really scared me," she said. "Because we were in the middle of a park and we had just been held up and 911 wasn't...

As direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are set to resume in Washington on Thursday, Arutz 7 spoke on Sunday with investigative journalist David Bedein about his film "For the Sake of Nakba". The film, which details the connection between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and PA incitement, will be shown on Monday on Capitol Hill to members of Congress and other senior American officials. The film presents interviews with senior PA officials, school principals, as well as students and teachers who say that their goal is the lands of Israeli cities such as...

Recent discourse concerning the Chinese People’s Liberation Army's (PLA) modernization has principally focused on technological advances and less on the human dimension of PLA force transformation. In particular, a review of these discussions revealed the absence of a publicly available database of Chinese military leaders with the rank of full general (shangjiang). Against the backdrop of the PLA’s stated intention to reorient the armed forces as part of its modernization efforts, an analysis of promotion patterns of the 118 PLA generals (1981 - 2009) may yield important insights into the foci of PLA force transformation. PLA to Build Up Navy...

Top IRS officials have been working with Democrats on Capitol Hill to determine how the agency will enforce President Obama’s new health care law. Republican lawmakers estimate the legislation will require the hiring of many thousands of new tax enforcement agents. While it’s still not known exactly how many will be hired, here’s what’s clear: Under the new law, the IRS is required to fine taxpayers thousands of dollars if they do not purchase health insurance. In order for the government to enforce compliance, tax authorities will need information, for the first time, about people’s health care. Collecting that data...

By Stefanie Geisler, Globe Correspondent A Manchester-by-the-Sea man arrested for stockpiling weapons and ammunition in his home allegedly told police he was preparing for Armageddon. Gregory D. Girard, 45, was arrested Tuesday night for allegedly storing approximately 20 weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Just before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Manchester-by-the Sea police executed a search warrant at 23 Bridge St., police said. Girard faces four counts of possession of an infernal device and four counts of possession of a dangerous weapon. Additional charges are pending, police said. “Mr. Girard indicated he was preparing for ‘Armageddon,’ which he felt was...

PHOENIX — Saying it would protect students and staffers, a veteran state lawmaker wants to let some faculty members carry their weapons onto university and community college campuses. Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, said existing restrictions in state law keep everyone but police from legally having a gun on campuses. The problem, he said, is those who want to harm someone else are not going to be deterred by that restriction. "It's a long-time goal of mine to make sure there are no defense-free zones where criminals know they can go into an establishment and there'll be no law-abiding citizens there...

"This is certainly nothing to celebrate. The glorification of the incident online and around town belies the horror of the killing and its aftermath. Even if it ultimately is judged to have been legally justified, the question of whether the situation couldn't have been handled differently will remain."

PHOENIX – Police in Phoenix say they've arrested a woman accused of leading an armed robbery gang involving her 12- and 14-year-old sons. Police say 51-year-old Cynthia White Roberson coached some of the four boys and three men who would face charges with her. The suspects are accused of at least 20 armed robberies in Phoenix and Glendale since late April. Police say Roberson lost her job six weeks ago and guilted her sons and some of the others into committing the robberies to pay for rent and a car loan.

Shooter was defending himself with shotgun, DA says Based on the information provided to the Yolo County District Attorney's Office by the West Sacramento Police Department regarding the Wednesday fatal shooting on Cummins Way in West Sacramento, no charges will be filed against Michael Moniz, 23, at this time. The evidence presented established that Joe Villanueva, 32, who was shot and killed in the attack, initiated the initial confrontation as he stood in the street and began shooting a handgun at people in the front yard of 1101 Cummins Way around 6 p.m. During that assault, police reported that bullets...

Want to know why pirates are hijacking and holding people for ransom? Because it works. The truth is that in places around the world where criminality is a profitable business, piracy is a pretty wise investment with nice returns and little risk. The only thing standing between you and the prize are unarmed crewmembers prepared to combat your guns with axes and hoses. The pirates are acting entirely out of economic interest. They don’t suicide bomb their targets. They don’t say it’s part of a grand jihad, even if al-Qaeda roots them on and does business with them. They don’t...

Law enforcement officers Wednesday continued praising the efforts of an armed couple, who stopped a burglary at their home Tuesday, as a search of a New Philadelphia suspect’s residence revealed a huge amount of evidence from past burglaries. “They broke the case,� said Detective Jeff Moore of the Tuscarawas County Sheriff Department, referring to the Roswell area couple who held Thomas Ritchie, 30, of New Philadelphia and William Allison II, 25, of Massillon at gunpoint until sheriff’s deputies arrived. “They broke the case for numerous detectives who are all smiling at this point in time,� Moore said as he participated...

Rep. Bachmann has made good on her word and showed up outside the White House this morning, shotgun in hand, ready to start a revolution! To a press conference of three, Bachmann stated, “I have called upon thousands of loyal Americans to march here this morning, with whatever weapons they have on hand: butter knives, slingshots, silly string, water balloons… Anything that’s going to let the Washington Elite know that we are serious!”

Police traced the suspect in a Monday burglary at a North Hero house because he abandoned his car at the scene while under fire from the homeowner, who said he could have killed the intruder but wanted only to force the man to surrender. Authorities Tuesday arrested Eric Edson, 37, of Burlington after using Department of Motor Vehicles information to present homeowner Jim Melanson with a photo lineup, according to Vermont State Police in St. Albans. Melanson, meanwhile, recounted his confrontation with the burglar -- a heart-racing encounter the 51-year-old self-employed electrician said lasted three to five minutes, but felt...

A map of President Bush's motorcade to Camp David was found last week in the possession of a teenager accused of stockpiling weapons and bomb-making materials, according to prosecutors. With the possibility that the motorcade was a target, federal authorities have joined police in investigating Collin Matthew McKenzie-Gude, 18, who allegedly was storing the weapons and materials just outside Washington, D.C., at the Bethesda, Md., home where he lives with his parents. MyFOXDC.com reports that Assistant State's Attorney Peter Feeney disclosed the discovery of the map of Camp David during a court hearing on Tuesday in Rockville, Md. The map...

Britain's Armed Forces 'stretched beyond their capabilities' by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent Last Updated: 10:12PM BST 24/06/2008 Britain's Armed Forces cannot go on running two major military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the head of the Armed Forces has admitted. There are 4,000 British troops in Iraq and numbers in Afghanistan will soon exceed 8,000 The two wars have left the Forces "stretched beyond the capabilities we have," Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said. It is the first time the most senior officer in the British military has expressed such grave doubts about...

During the decades the American Rifleman has published “The Armed Citizen”

Defensive Thoughts for the Day Get Good With Gun Gab by Greg Perry Always practice your response when asked why you carry a gun or what you think of gun control. Through the years several writers and enthusiasts have written great sound bites you can use. Gun people love to exchange gun-related effective statements that are funny, cut to the heart of gun controls evil, promote freedom & defense, or all of the above. Being armed emotionally and conversationally is almost as important as being armed with bullets that fly out your guns muzzle. The left thinks it owns the...

WASHINGTON - U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man carrying a rifle outside the Capitol building Friday, authorities said. The man was in custody and no one was injured, police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. An officer first spotted the man near Union Station, about two blocks from the Capitol. A car belonging to the suspect was being searched.

FORT HUACHUCA — The head of the House Armed Services Committee will visit the post Friday and Saturday. Isaac Newton “Ike” Skelton IV, the Democratic representative from Missouri’s 4th District, will be coming to the post, and later travel to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, to receive mission briefings and to meet with soldiers and airmen and their families, according to C.J. Karamargin, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, whose 8th Congressional District includes both military installations. Democrat Giffords, who is a member of the committee, invited the chairman to look at key installations in her district, Karamargin said....

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2007 – The U.S. military’s most senior enlisted member locked up his office yesterday in pursuit of other seniors – senior citizens living in the Armed Forces Retirement Home here. Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, jokes with Army veteran Jo Colvard-Willa Cooper about being married to a sailor, Aug. 8, 2007. Gainey and his joint travel team spent their workday visiting the Armed Forcers Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. Photo by Sheila R. Abarr  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Command...

One man was killed and another wounded after being shot in Queens late Tuesday by a contractor who told investigators that the men had demanded $20,000 from him and threatened to harm his wife, law enforcement officials said. The contractor, Lulzim Kupi, 42, told investigators he shot the men in self-defense. He was expected to be charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, the police said. One man who was shot, Redinel Dervishaj, 32, was in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital Center with gunshot wounds to the arm and torso, law enforcement officials said. The other man,...

GREENCASTLE - An Antrim Township mini-mart owner who has been the victim of several recent burglaries shot an intruder during a confrontation early Thursday, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Merlony Colaco, 29, has seen his Molly Pitcher Mini-Mart at 13640 Molly Pitcher Highway burglarized more than half a dozen times since March. Colaco has owned the store for a year and a half. The first year was relatively tranquil, but in March the establishment was robbed four times in 14 days. In one incident, Colaco held a woman at bay with a gun until police arrived. On Thursday at 1:46...

A Gainesville man awoke to the sounds of a dog fight early Monday. When he walked outside, he found his dog locked in the jaws of a large pit bull. "I'm sound asleep and my wife says there's a dog fight in the yard," said Fletcher Sutton, 58. "And within 90 seconds I find myself standing in the yard in my bathrobe with a knife in one hand, a gun in the other and a dog dead between my legs." ...

Calling Blood Type AB Donors We have received an urgent request from the United States Department of Defense for type AB plasma. We will be shipping them 100 units a week thru mid-August. We ask for your help at this time. As a blood type AB donor, the plasma in your body is universal – it can go to anyone of any blood type. Who uses plasma? Burn patients, trauma patients, even our troops wounded in battle. Type AB is also rare. Only 4% of the population is type AB, so you can imagine how in-demand your plasma must be....

Armed Forces Day "America Supports You" Saturday, May 19, 2007 President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense.

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., May 18, 2007 – Ask someone serving in the military, and you might be surprised to hear them tell you just how much Armed Forces Day means to them. As the country commemorates its 57th Armed Forces Day tomorrow, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines say they’re grateful for a special day set aside to recognize them and their service. It’s particularly important, they say, while the country is at war. After 14 years in the Army and two deployments to the Middle East, Army Sgt. Robert Clark said he welcomes a day honoring the...

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2007 – Today’s servicemembers reflect the same determination shown by those who fought for America’s freedom more than 200 years ago, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in a message issued as the annual Armed Forces Day observance approaches. Armed Forces Day -- always the third Saturday in May -- is observed May 19 this year. Gates said many people are familiar with the opening of Thomas Paine’s treatise called “The Crisis,” written in defense of the then-fledgling American Revolution: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Less familiar, he said, is a later passage...

A jeweller shot in the chest during an armed robbery escaped injury because the bullet hit his mobile phone, a court heard yesterday. Shop manager Darren Prior, 25, was chasing the raider who had looted his shop of diamond rings worth £50,000. Despite the raider firing a "warning shot" past him, Mr Prior continued the pursuit down an alleyway, where the gunman suddenly stopped and turned before firing at him from just 20 feet away. Store manager Darren Prior was shot during an armed robbery, but escaped injury because the bullet hit his mobile phone

ABC’s "20/20" Seeking "Armed Citizen" Stories Friday, April 06, 2007 Gun ban groups often claim that private citizens rarely, if ever, use guns in self-defense. ABC News’ "20/20" is now putting that claim to the test, asking viewers to submit their own real-life "Armed Citizen" stories. ABC’s website asks: Have you ever defended yourself from a crime in your home, in your business, or in public by using a gun? Perhaps you warded off a potential attacker by simply showing a gun? If you’ve personally used a gun in a legitimate act of self-protection against a criminal attacker, we encourage...

Armed woman holds suspected burglar Friday, March 30, 2007By NADIA M. TAYLOR Staff Reporter A mother who had just dropped off her daughters at school Wednesday morning held a suspected robber at gunpoint after she returned home to find him in her south Mobile driveway, Mobile police said. Lelia Richardson left her Parkway Drive home at about 7 a.m. to take her two daughters to school, police spokesman Officer Eric Gallichant said Thursday. When she returned about 50 minutes later, she saw an unfamiliar car under her carport and the door to her home open. The door frame was busted...

Armed US police could be on London streets By Brendan Carlin and John Steele Last Updated: 10:01am GMT 06/02/2007 Armed foreign police could patrol the streets of London during the 2012 Olympics under an unprecedented scenario outlined by one of Scotland Yard’s most senior officers. Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, the man in charge of security preparations for the Games and Britain’s most senior Muslim police officer, also raised the prospect of British troops being drafted in to help with the huge security challenges. Security experts are privately debating how to protect the Olympics from terror attacks from Islamic extremist “jihadi”...

We are pleased to announce that Richard A. Wannemacher, Jr., Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – National Cemetery Administration, has accepted our invitation to address the audience attending EchoTaps Worldwide 2007 at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN on May 19, 2007. VA Memorial Affairs is responsible for providing burial space for Veterans and their eligible family members; maintaining National Cemeteries as national shrines, sacred to the honor and memory of those interred or memorialized there; marking the graves of Veterans with a Government-provided headstone or marker; providing Presidential Memorial Certificates in...

President Bush says the U.S. needs to increase the size of Army and Marines, and says strategy and tactics in Iraq will change to meet the situation on the ground. Bush also said Wednesday that insurgents in Iraq thwarted U.S. efforts at "establishing security and stability throughout the country" in 2006. At a year-end news conference, Bush said the United States will "ask more of our Iraqi partners" in 2007, and he pledged to work with the new Democratic Congress, as well. Bush sidestepped one question _ whether he would order a so-called surge of troops in Iraq as a...

President Bush says the U.S. needs to increase the size of Army and Marines, and says strategy and tactics in Iraq will change to meet the situation on the ground. Bush also said Wednesday that insurgents in Iraq thwarted U.S. efforts at "establishing security and stability throughout the country" in 2006. At a year-end news conference, Bush said the United States will "ask more of our Iraqi partners" in 2007, and he pledged to work with the new Democratic Congress, as well. Bush sidestepped one question _ whether he would order a so-called surge of troops in Iraq as a...