Free Republic

A sculpture in Georgia larger than a football field – depicting Civil War luminaries Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson – has become the latest target in the push to purge the South of signs of the Confederacy. The Atlanta chapter of the NAACP called Monday for the elimination of all symbols of the Confederacy from Stone Mountain Park, whose marquee attraction is the 90-foot-high, 190-foot-wide sculpture carved deep into the mountain. "Those guys need to go,” chapter leader Richard Rose told WSB-TV, referring to Davis, the former president of the Confederate States of America, and the...

After being fired for writing what’s been described as an “anti-gay” book, former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran says he “absolutely” wants his job back. “In the United States of America, Americans should not have to choose between keeping your job and living out your faith,” Cochran told The Daily Signal in an exclusive interview. “And that’s the position the city of Atlanta actually has taken—that I have to have a choice to live out my faith or to keep my job.” Cochran was fired in January 2015 for publishing a men’s devotional book for a Baptist church group. In...

Members of the Parsi Zoroastrian community in Calcutta have filed a petition in a local high court against the music video for the song “King” by Amitis featuring Snoop Dogg, calling it blasphemous and disrespectful toward their faith, the Times of India reports. Zoroastrianism is a millennia-old faith with roots in ancient Persia and a flourishing community in India; its scripture emphasizes the sanctity of nature and the duality of existence. Amitis is an Iranian-born singer who now lives in Atlanta; “King” appears to be her entrance into the realm of Western pop. Snoop Dogg is Snoop Dogg — in...

According to the American Meteor Society fireball is another term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude of the planet Venus as seen in the morning or evening sky. A bolide is a special type of fireball which explodes in a bright terminal flash at its end, often with visible fragmentation. A spokesperson for the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says the fireball which was seen over Walker County (Alabama) was a meteor as neither FAA nor local authorities have any confirmed information about a plane crash or any other accident,...

OAKLAND — What's one more week compared to a 40-year championship drought? What's one more week when it means a shot at the first title in franchise history? The Warriors eliminated the Rockets with a 104–90 victory in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday, advancing to an NBA Finals date with the Cavaliers. This is a matchup worth waiting for, and a little patience will be required. Because both Golden State and Cleveland made quick work of their conference finals foes, the NBA will hit the pause button for a full week before the championship series opens...

VIA TWITTER: Where is this, and who is the woman?

A Georgia man says he has no regrets after he turned the tables on a would-be carjacker and held him on the ground at gunpoint until police arrived. Hashim Fannin said he was pulling into a parking spot at the Family Dollar in northwest Atlanta earlier this month when Edgar Horn, 61, slid into the passenger seat after Mr. Fannin’s doors automatically unlocked, a local ABC affiliate reported. “He told me, ‘You know what this is,’ ” Mr. Fannin recalled. Thats’ when he pulled out his gun on the suspect. “I asked him to get out the car, probably not...

President Barack Obama got four mayors to fully endorse his nationwide program to “build welcoming communities” for millions of “new Americans” and roll out the red carpet. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed — who recently made headlines for terminating his city’s fire chief over a Christian book that described homosexual behavior as sin — signed on late last month to join three other mayors of major American cities: Los Angeles’ Eric Garcetti, Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel and Nashville’s Karl Dean. Reed’s message to the millions of refugees and immigrants entering the country: Come to Atlanta. “Reed became the nation’s fourth mayor to...

Those who follow campus politics say they are not shocked. "I'm not surprised that Boston University is hiring a racist to teach African American Studies," David Horowitz, author of “Reforming our Univerisities” told FoxNews.com. "Anti-white racism is rampant in Black Studies programs which are generally indoctrination programs in left wing politics." Boston University stands by the professor, who will start working at the college in June. “Professor Grundy is exercising her right to free speech and we respect her right to do so,” Boston University spokesman Colin Riley said. Grundy did not respond to a request for comment from FoxNews.com,...

Okay, some new names for cities affected by rioting or probably soon to be affected. Baltimore - Baltitroit Charleston - CharlesWatts Atlanta - Detrantla Birmingham - Birmingtroit Philadelphia - Philatroit Pittsburg - PittsWatts

... The Delta Honor Guard is a group of employees and baggage handlers at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. What they do for Fallen Soldiers is extremely touching ...

If you walked through Midtown Atlanta today, you would see a burgeoning, bustling, vibrant community. A place where people live, play and work. For me, it's not just a matter of interest; it's a matter of family history. My father-in-law, Jim Cushman, developed the first mixed-use community in Midtown Atlanta, Colony Square. Designed to include offices, shops, residential and entertainment, it began in the late 1960s when there were abandoned and burned-out buildings in the area. The idea of gathering up large parcels of land and creating a "mixed-use" community was unheard of, especially in what was thought of at...

ATLANTA (AP) — A group of former Atlanta educators convicted in a test cheating scandal were locked up in jail Thursday as they await sentences that could send them to prison for years. In one of the nation's largest cheating scandals of its kind, the 11 defendants were convicted Wednesday of racketeering for their roles in a scheme to inflate students' scores on standardized exams. They include teachers, a principal and other administrators, who were accused of falsifying test results to collect bonuses or keep their jobs in the 50,000-student Atlanta public school system. A 12th defendant, a teacher, was...

Full title: Atlanta cheating scandal teachers go to cells in hand-cuffs: Eleven educators face up to 20 years in prison for inflating their students' test scores to get bonus money for their schools . . . and for themselves The 11 teachers, testing coordinators and other administrators were convicted Wednesday of racketeering after a five-year investigation Evidence of cheating was found in 44 schools across the Atlanta school system, with nearly 180 educators involved A racketeering charge could carry up to 20 years in prison and most of the defendants will be sentenced on April 8 The cheating came to...

On a recent Friday, Kwanza Brooks, a $7.25-an-hour McDonald’s worker, climbed into a 14-person van to take a four-hour ride from Charlotte, N.C., to Atlanta. As she and other workers headed south, Ms. Brooks, a short, fiery woman, swapped stories with her companions about unsafe conditions and unfair managers. Upon arriving, they joined more than 400 other people — including home care aides, Walmart workers, child care workers and adjunct professors. The gathering was a strategy session to plan for the fast-food movement’s next big wave of protests, which is now scheduled for April 15. But the meeting was also...

Like they did a week ago, ”Black Brunch” protesters hit the Atlanta area on Palm Sunday to disrupt “white spaces” by walking into restaurants, standing among diners and loudly reading statistics and proclamations regarding black oppression. Twitchy noted the latest protests, which were caught on cellphone video and spread around the Internet via social media. In this clip a man who appeared to be a manager attempted to get protesters out of the eatery to no avail — not even when a woman told them, “You’re scaring the children!” (VIDEO-AT-LINK)[continued]

Some sort of tipping point seems to have been reached, with Sunday morning brunch patrons no longer willing to sit passively as noisy protesters attempt to guilt-trip them about being white, or having the disposable income to go out for a nice brunch, or something (in my view, mostly anger about being such losers). Gateway Pundit reports on the pushback in Atlanta and Minneapolis eateries yesterday. In Atlanta: Black Brunch protesters invaded several Decatur, Georgia restaurants on Sunday. Protesters report two establishments called police, with managers from Sweet Melissa’s trying unsuccessfully to throw them out.

ATLANTA — After more than five years of controversy and five months of testimony, a prosecutor used seven words on Monday to recap the accusations against the dozen Atlanta educators seated in a courtroom here. “They cheated,” the prosecutor, John E. Floyd, told the jurors in Fulton County Superior Court. “They lied. And they stole.” Mr. Floyd’s scornful summary came near the start of what will be days of closing arguments centered on whether significant increases in standardized test scores in Atlanta’s public schools came about because of endemic cheating and what prosecutors say was criminal misconduct that included racketeering....

ATLANTA (CBS46) - Former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Atlanta and Mayor Kasim Reed. Cochran was reportedly fired after handing out a book he wrote to his employees. The book had what Reed called "disturbing sentiments about the LGBT community." At first, Reed suspended Cochran for 30 days and the chief was to undergo sensitivity training. The former chief believes he was fired because of his Christian faith and beliefs.

DEVELOPING: A gunman shot seven people Saturday, killing five of them, in a subdivision west of Atlanta, Georgia. [Snip] Daniel said five people were killed, including several children.