Free Republic

If you want to see how out of touch the left is with rural America, look no further than the recent elections in Virginia. The left ignored and marginalized most Virginians, and Republicans experienced huge wins. That same tone deaf rhetoric is now being heard in regards to the urban/rural proposed boundaries of Oklahoma's 3rd Congressional District.Big-city Democrats have decried the map as "racist" and the residents of rural Oklahoma as "uneducated" and "uncultured." They have said that the "most vibrant parts of Oklahoma City's urban core are being marginalized" and that big-city voices are "being drowned out by rural...

Well it's not over. That said, what do Big City Freepers recommend??? 1) Bug out and head for high ground and get stuck in traffic 2) Get cases of water/chlorine tablets and pull that inflatable fishing boat out of storage 3) something else?

A federal grand jury Friday indicted ousted Pittsburgh police Chief Nate Harper for tax violations. Prosecutors charged Harper, 60, of Stanton Heights with four counts of “tax problems” and one count of conspiracy. He is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Mitchell. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Cessar appeared before the judge with the indictment and the grand jury foreman. The indictment comes two months after the Tribune-Review reported the grand jury's work and one month after Mayor Luke Ravenstahl forced Harper to resign his post. Harper led the department since 2006. The grand jury was investigating Harper's involvement...

LA County Finds Health Code Violations in Skid Row LOS ANGELES (AP) — The city of Los Angeles is violating the county health code for hazardous conditions on Skid Row, including nearly 90 rats' nests, a dozen hypodermic needles and piles of human excrement and trash on sidewalks, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has found. The notice of violation stems from an extensive Health Department inspection last month of the 10-block area of downtown Los Angeles that houses the nation's densest population of homeless people, most of them mentally ill and substance abusers. Health officials ordered the...

DETROIT - Before the Super Bowl kickoff this weekend, private planes will land here, limousines will clog the streets, and lavish parties will be thrown for those with famous names or lots of money. The kitchens of Ford Field will be stocked with two tons of lobster. Much of the rest of Detroit, though, is a landscape dotted with burned-out buildings, where liquor stores abound but supermarkets are hard to come by, and where drugs, violence and unemployment are everyday realities. Officials in the nation's poorest big city see hosting the game as a huge boost. They say it will...

Four million copies of Time magazine hit the streets today naming San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy one of the three worst big-city mayors in America. Murphy defiantly dismissed the designation and counterpunched the country's top-selling news magazine from his driveway yesterday. "People should be proud of what we have accomplished in this city," he said. "Tell Time magazine that they just don't understand what's going on." Murphy said more negative national news won't affect tourism or the city's faltering financial outlook, but he said it could jeopardize business recruitment and the chances of being picked as the headquarters for the...

When I left a steady newspaper job nine years ago to help launch this online news site, many people called me nuts. Too risky, no credibility and no brand loyalty, the naysayers said. It seemed OK to me: I'd worked at big daily newspapers and a magazine for 15 years, and, as a news hound, welcomed the chance to publish scoops in real time. It's a simple "model," as the MBAs put it: We get a scoop and publish it on the Internet ASAP. No "back shop," no printers, no newspaper delivery people. Readers like it, and the print competitors...